


pick up the pieces (make me whole)

by phantomthieves



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Betrayal, Break Up, Distrust, Drama, Emotional Hurt, F/F, First One Adora, Flashbacks, Heartbreak, Keyword: was, Lovers to enemies to lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Regret, Road Trip!, Road Trips, Tension, The First Ones are holy beings, adora included, catra was a sorcerer, emotional tension, lots of regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2020-09-23 06:02:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20335282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthieves/pseuds/phantomthieves
Summary: "As the First Ones have said, your crime is punishable by death. However…" Adora steps closer, standing right in front of Catra. "I'm proposing they give you a lesser sentence." She opens up the book in her arms to a page she'd already had bookmarked. "Your Graces, I propose that instead of inflicting death upon Catra for her crime…" She takes a breath, looking down at Catra. "We cast her out. Break and shatter her soul so that she may never come back unless she's whole again."***Catra, punished for a crime she never wanted to commit, is cast out from the Etheria Heavens, and her only hope to get back home was finding every last piece of her shattered soul. It isn’t easy, and having a certain someone getting in the way certainly doesn’t make it any easier...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ayyy we’re back...also i’m apparently totally incapable of writing something that’s not angst, i.....apologize for that.  
anyways, this is an au i came up with by myself, and i’m a little hesitant about it but i think it’s gonna go well, hopefully! i’m kind of just testing the waters with this au tbh....i’m not great at fantasy-like settings or world building, which i’ve done a bit here....anyways  
i really hope y’all like this, bc it’s already one of my favorites that i’ve written so far, and i’ve only written one chapter. thank you for taking the chance on this fic and clicking it and thank you for reading !

_ One year ago… _

_ "Catra of the Etheria Heavens, young Sorcerer, you have committed a crime. A crime that is most unforgivable to the First Ones and the Heavens in which we dwell." _

_ Catra knelt in front of the seemingly huge beings, shaking and trembling as she bowed her head and tried to maintain composure. She felt sweat bead at her forehead, and all she could do was stare at the ground in fear. She says nothing, despite feeling a strong urge to snap back at them. It would be stupid to talk back to the First Ones. But, she deserved this. _

_ "The crime of tampering with, and attempting to steal, the Sword of Protection, our most sacred and powerful artifact, is punishable by death." _

_ Catra goes stiff, ice cold fear shooting through her entire body. She deserved this. She shouldn't have been manipulated so easily, and she knows that. This wasn't entirely her fault, but the First Ones wouldn't believe her if she tried to say that she’d been...well, to put it simply, brainwashed. There was nothing she could do… Her head snaps up, her eyes wide as she stares at the glowing beings before her. She doesn't dare stand up against them, however, that'd be a step too far. "Please, Your Graces, I-" _

_ "It'd be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut, Catra." _

_ Catra turns and looks in the direction of the voice. There, standing beside the First Ones, was a young First One herself, Adora. She was nothing like her superiors; She wasn't as tall, as glowy, or as intimidating as them, but she emitted such an energy of authority it only felt natural to feel just a little afraid of her right now. Adora was their pride and joy, after all. Catra and Adora had been friends, and at one point lovers, but Adora had shown that her loyalty to her people and her desire to be the best amongst the young First Ones was more important, souring their relationship greatly. _

_ "Unless you really _ ** _do_ ** _ want to die…" Adora stands beside her superiors, holding the book of ancient First Ones history and various laws in her arms, clutching it to her chest. A standard for trials such as this. Catra glares, feeling a yell building up in her chest. But Adora holds up her hand. "Your Graces, if I may?" _

_ The First Ones nod, allowing Adora to speak. _

_ "As the First Ones have said, your crime is punishable by death. However…" She steps closer, standing right in front of Catra. "I'm proposing they give you a lesser sentence." She opens up the book to a page she'd already had bookmarked. "Your Graces, I propose that instead of inflicting death upon Catra for her crime…" She takes a breath, looking down at Catra. "We cast her out. Break and shatter her soul so that she may never come back unless she's whole again." This was sure to earn her superiors' favor. They respected her as it was, but to enforce the laws that had been established for millennia… It was sure to give her a one-up amongst the other young First Ones she's been training with. Not to mention… it had to be better than killing her. _

_ Catra gasps, her body starting to shake all over again as she hears that. She begins feeling frantic, more afraid than she's ever been in her entire life. Even the threat of death couldn't make her this scared. Being cast out and sent to the humans below was just- as a Sorcerer who had been in the Heavens since her birth, she knew of no worse punishment than being cast out; Even death wasn't as terrifying as this. She's only known of a few people to return after gathering the shards of their shattered souls after the alloted time they were given to find them before they were cast out forever, and they hadn't returned the same as they were before. Not only this, but she'd heard that the breaking of the soul was the most painful thing one could experience. The thought of this happening to her… it was horrifying. "No. No, Adora, that-" _

_ One of the First Ones claps their hands together, interrupting Catra. "Silence!" They turn to Adora, who stood unwavering in front of Catra. "Adora, my child… Breaking a soul is-" _

_ "Extremely painful. I know. But death is too harsh a punishment." Adora clears her throat, ignoring the twinge of regret that hits her for a split second. No, this was fine. It was what had to be done. She certainly didn't want Catra to die. This was for the better, even if Catra didn't understand that. "May I?" She looks up at her superiors. After a moment of thought, they all nod, allowing her to proceed. Catra chokes out a horrified gasp. _

_ "No! No, Adora, please don't do this!" She pleads, tears starting to stream down her face. "It wasn't my fault, I didn't want to-" _

_ Adora ignores her, stepping forward and pressing a hand to Catra's forehead. "It's better than dying, isn't it?" She whispers, looking down at her. Catra ignores her, shaking her head as best she can with Adora's hand pressed to her. _

_ "It wasn't me!" Catra shouts desperately as she's held still by Adora's powers. "It was Light Sp- Adora, please, listen to me!" She could already feel the power Adora was putting out and unto her. "Adora!" _

_ Adora says nothing more, closing her eyes and focusing, directing her power right to Catra's soul. Catra had no choice but to sit there, her begging and pleading falling on deaf ears. No one would listen. Not even Adora, the woman she'd promised her heart to long ago, back when they were children. She wouldn't listen. _

_ Catra gasps when she feels the first crack of the soul within her. She clutches her chest, breathing hard. "Ado-" The second crack was far more painful, and it makes her shut her eyes tight and grit her teeth. She was no longer able to talk through the pain. _

_ Adora focuses more, putting more power into it. This was not an easy task by any means whatsoever. A soul was precious, especially a Sorcerer's soul. Next to the First Ones, the Sorcerers held the most power among the Etheria Heavens. Breaking an average soul was fairly easy, but a Sorcerer's? Not nearly. _

_ Crack, crack, crack… _

_ A scream is ripped from Catra as the first shard of her soul falls from the Heavens. Adora doesn't stop, despite the sick feeling starting to settle in her stomach as she continued. There was no going back now. Hearing Catra beg, scream, and sob like this… It's making Adora regret what she's doing, but shards had already chipped away. This was for the better. It was, she was sure… She fights off the feeling of tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She holds her breath in concentration as she winds her hand into Catra's hair to keep a grip on the now quaking and screaming woman breaking beneath her touch. The First Ones say nothing, simply watching the act. And before they all know it, Catra's soul has burst like glass, shattered into several pieces that fell from the Heavens to the Earth down below. And, with one last, huge burst of light, Catra is gone, cast out of the Heavens and sent to Earth. _

_ Quiet falls around them, and the First Ones quietly clap for Adora. "Your powers have grown immensely, my child," One of them says, and Adora takes a deep, shaky breath, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. "Why do you cry?" They ask then, confused. Adora shakes her head slightly. _

_ There was no way she could tell them now. There was no way she could tell them that she should've never suggested this, that she never should've gone through with it. Instead, she forces a smile. "I'm just tired. It…it took a big toll on my body," She tells them, and they all nod. _

_ "Go, rest now," They request of her, and Adora nods slightly before turning and walking away from them. _

_ She heads home, Catra's screams seeming to be engraved into her mind. Damnit… how could she have gone from so certain about this to regret so quickly? How could she show such weakness? How could she break Catra like this? _

_ How could she betray the person that meant the most to her, even if it meant saving her life? _

_ She couldn't decide if never seeing Catra again or having Catra hate her for the rest of their existences was worse. She… couldn't think of that right now. _

* * *

_ Catra wakes up alone, in a bright white room with a single door on one wall. She sits up, rubbing her head, which ached pretty terribly. One of the first things she notices besides her headache is the unbearably hollow feeling inside her chest. She...she doesn't really feel anything. Not even fear or anything about the fact that she'd just lost her soul. She pushes herself up and sits down in a chair--really, the only piece of furniture in the room--that's against the wall closest to her, looking around. It’s only a moment later when a buzzing sound rings throughout the room, making Catra wince; That hurt her already aching head. Then, the door opens. _

_ A scrawny, tired looking young man with a file in his hand walks in, adjusting his tie a bit. Catra raises an eyebrow at him. His attire implies that he’s a man of some sort of office worker or something; He’s wearing dress slacks, a button down, tie, and clipped on badge showing his ID and title, but Catra couldn’t read it from here. The man walks over to her, opening up the file. _

_ “Catra, is it?” He asks her, and Catra nods slightly. She can read his badge now; his name is Kyle. Kyle nods back at her, looking down at the file and reading from it. “Says here you’re a Sorcerer?” Another nod. “And you’ve been cast out because of- Oh my.” His voice drops and he looks up from the file, then up at Catra. _

_ “Shut up about it, I don’t wanna talk about it,” She mutters with a scowl, and Kyle clears his throat. _

_ “Sure, you don’t have to. Um, anyways, my name is Kyle and I’m gonna be your caseworker for your time on Earth,” He explains, giving her a smile. Catra looks at him blankly. _

_ “My caseworker?” She asks, and Kyle nods. _

_ “Mhm. Everyone who is cast out is assigned a caseworker to report to every so often. My job is to help you during this...troubling time. I help get you housing, a job, stuff like that, so you aren’t left completely to your own devices down here,” He continues, shrugging a bit. _

_ Catra laughs quietly. “After everything I did and everything that happened to me, I’m being given help?” She asks, confused yet amused. Ha, that was rich… Kyle nods again. _

_ “Mhm. Being cast out is a lesser punishment, kind of a last resort before death, it’s more of…” His eyes roll towards the ceiling in thought. “It’s supposed to teach you a lesson, and part of my job is to help and support you through it, like I said before.” _

_ Catra stares at him, her mind starting to turn a bit as she thinks. So… Adora was actually… She shakes her head, closing her eyes. No. No, she hurt her. She betrayed her by choosing _ ** _them_ ** _ over her… "A lesson, huh?" _

_ "Yup. Believe it or not, the First Ones prefer rehabilitation over death, and… well, that's why you're here now." He shrugs slightly. _

_ Catra smirks, narrowing her eyes. "Why are _ ** _you_ ** _ here, huh? Did you get cast out too? Is that why you're stuck with this shitty job?" She asks, sounding pretty condescending. _

_ Kyle sighs, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "No. I'm not going to talk about that right now." Catra rolls her eyes. "Anyways, get up, we gotta sign some paperwork, and I'll help you get settled…Oh," His demeanor quickly shifts when he remembers something. "And I have a surprise for you!" _

_ "A surprise?" She asks, standing up and walking towards him. _

_ Kyle starts leading her out of the room and down a hall. Catra looks around, trying to register where she is. It reminded her of some sort of police precinct or detective's office, very official and stiff and just slightly scary. "Yup, a surprise," Kyle affirms as he leads her into an office with his name on the door. He closes the door, gesturing for her to sit down. _

_ "What kind of surprise?" She asks warily as she sits down in the chair in front of his desk. _

_ Smiling, Kyle sits down at his desk and opens a drawer, pulling out a necklace with a small, clear crystal pendant on it, a pendant with a very dull glow to it. Catra sees that when he holds it out to her, it begins glowing strongly, more than before. "This is for you." _

_ Catra takes it, eyes wide. This feels so familiar to her, even though she's never seen it. It felt… like part of her. Was this…? "Is… wh-what is this?" She asks quietly, staring at the glowing pendant. Kyle leans against his desk. _

_ "This is part of your soul. I've contained it in here. It's plain, mostly because I didn't really know your style, but you need something to hold your soul shards in, and… well, this is as good as anything else, and it rests right where your soul used to be. So…" He gestures for her to put it on, and she does so. _

_ When the pendant touches her skin, right above her heart, she instantly feels slightly better than before. Maybe she even felt relief… "Oh…" _

_ "Whenever you find a shard, put it in there. Once you find them all, I'll help you put it back together and back into you. Okay?" He says, smiling a bit. Catra nods. "Good. So, I’ve tuned myself to your soul’s energy, so it’s possible for me to get readings on it, to help you locate the pieces." He opens the file once more. "It appears your soul has shattered into seven pieces-" He winces. "Jeez, that's a lot, especially for a Sorcerer…" He clears his throat, shaking his head. "Anyways, the first shard just so happened to fall near me, which is why you have that now. So you have six left." He reads a bit more. "Now, I'm not allowed to tell you where exactly they've landed, that's against the Etherian laws, but I can give you some very good news. They've all landed in the North Americas, and we're in the US now, so you won't have to go all over the planet to find them." _

_ Catra sighs quietly, feeling only slightly better about this whole situation. "I guess that's good," She murmurs. "So how exactly am I supposed to locate these shards?" _

_ "Well, since they're part of you, you'll get something similar to signals when you're close to them. It's like a game of hot and cold. The closer you get, the stronger you'll sense them. The farther you get, the less you'll sense them. It's fairly simple, like how you felt when I gave you the necklace." He closes the file once more, folding his hands as he looks at Catra, who was starting to seem a little exasperated. _

_ "Is that all?" She asks, closing her eyes. Kyle shakes his head a bit. _

_ "No. One last thing…" He shifts in his seat a bit. "The allotted time for everyone cast out to find their soul shards is two years." _

_ Catra gasps, eyes wide. "Two fucking years?!" She exclaims, shocked. "How the hell am I supposed to find _ ** _six_ ** _ soul shards in two years, Kyle?!" She demands, and Kyle cringes away from her, a little scared of her. _

_ "I- Listen, I don't make the rules, okay? I just enforce them." He relaxes when she groans and leans back in her seat. "I'm here to help you, okay? It's my job to help you get through this and get you back home. You may have committed a crime, and you may have been cast out, but you aren't going to be doing this alone, Catra." _

_ Catra goes quiet, putting her face in her hands. She doesn't say anything for a moment, just thinking everything over, before she looks up. "Okay," She whispers, barely audible. "Thanks." _

* * *

Present day 

Catra wakes up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath as she quickly sat upright, looking around her room. She clutches her chest, breathing hard and ragged. "No…" She whispers to herself, quickly flipping on her bedside lamp. She winces at the light, but she's able to see- she's still on Earth in the apartment Kyle had gotten her, like she had been for the last year. The nightmares she had--more often than not--of that day all that time ago haunted her, and the feeling of her soul shattering was something she could never forget… She closes her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. 

Her hand idly goes to the necklace around her neck for comfort, holding onto the pendant tight. Inside it of it was the only piece of her soul she’d found so far. Much to her dismay, she still had six pieces left to find and only a year to do it. When Adora had shattered her soul, she’d _ really _ shattered it. Most souls only split into three or so pieces, but Catra’s...it had split into seven, seven pieces scattered across the country. Catra had gotten extremely lucky when the first piece had been found with her on-earth caseworker, who had just happened to catch it out of pure luck. He'd seen it fall and had immediately gone to catch it.

Soul shards weren't necessarily _ physical _ objects, but small, bright, glowing orbs that only Etherians could see and feel, which was how Kyle had managed to snag it. Luckily, soul shards were unable to be seen by human eyes, so they just sat where they fell until they were able to be reclaimed by their owner. However, they could've fallen anywhere on Earth, which was why many who were cast out never returned to the Etheria Heavens. They got general feelings of where their soul shards rested, but… it wasn't supposed to be very easy. During your time finding your shards, you were supposed to think about what you did and reflect on it. It was supposed to be a time of rehabilitation and repentance, and those who did gather their soul shards had certainly learned their lesson. 

Catra felt… hopeless. It's been a year now, that she's been on Earth, and no leads on her remaining six shards had been found. Even Kyle was a bit lost on which direction to take from here. He'd been trying to get a feel for some sort of lead ever since the search started, but… for some reason, he just couldn't. Catra wasn't having any better luck either, so she didn't blame him...just herself.

She sighs shakily and glances at the clock on her nightstand. Seven-thirty in the morning. She cringes at the time and lies back down, draping her arm over her eyes. She had to be up in half an hour, so she could try to go back to sleep, but she knows she wouldn't be able to. It wasn't very easy for her to sleep lately. Instead, she gets herself up out of bed and walks towards her closet, not really caring about what she pulls out; Kyle had put her in some shitty office job where she did nothing but organize files and spreadsheets and dumb shit like that. She hated it, but she had no choice. She liked her job in the Heavens a _ lot _ more than she liked this one, she liked being a Sorcerer much more than she liked being a boring human with a boring job. She missed her powers, she missed her friends, she missed Ado-

No, she didn't miss her. Nope. 

She was just… upset that being cast out stripped her of what made her an Etherian, her soul ripped out of her and shattered all over. She was basically a plain old human now, and even after a whole year it stillfelt weird… and sad. It was hard to care about anything when she couldn't feel much as it was. Most days were spent either numb or depressed, but… oh well. Not much she could do without any leads. She pulls on the clothes she'd gotten out, gets her hair up into a ponytail, then grabs her coat and her bag, deciding to forgo breakfast. Another day, another Goddamn spreadsheet… 

As she gets into her car, she makes a call to Kyle over the phone handily built into the car. He picks up almost immediately, just like usual. "Good morning, Catra!" He chimes, and Catra rolls her eyes, sighing. 

"Hey. You're awfully chipper today, how come?" She asks as she pulls out of her parking spot the apartment complex had given her. She begins driving to work, already feeling done with the day. 

"Well, I kinda met someone recently. He's human, but--but that doesn't really matter," He tells her, and she smirks.

"Ew, you're dating a human?" She asks teasingly, and she suppresses and chuckle when Kyle sighs in exasperation. 

"Listen, Catra, I'll take what I can get. It gets lonely sometimes, y'know?" He huffs. "Anyways, I can talk about that later. More importantly, I'm _ also _happy because I have some fantastic news." Catra's eyebrows raise in surprise when he says that. She hadn't received any good news about anything in quite a while. 

"What is it? And it better not be stupid-"

"I found a shard," He interrupts, and she gasps, nearly running a red light from shock. 

"Are you kidding me?" She asks, quickly coming to a stop. "Did one just magically migrate close to me or something?" 

"Mm-mm, no. Well, actually… kind of. It's really weird, last night I got a huge reading near your apartment, and the energy I got was your soul. Like a shard had actually moved towards you. There was something else, but...I was only focused on your soul.”

"Well where the hell is it now?" She demands impatiently, ignoring the fact he mentioned something else. She was only concerned about the shard of her soul. She sighs, starting to turn around to head back home, hoping to retrieve it. "Tell me you know."

"I mean, I only get the general area near your place, but…" 

Catra's heart skips a beat when she suddenly gets a wave of warmth washed over her. She recognized this warmth somehow, but she couldn't place it. And… sure, somewhere in there she felt the energy of her soul, but that warmth was something else. That made her kind of nervous. What the hell had a piece of her soul? "Kyle, I feel something," She murmurs, her hands gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter. It was getting stronger the more she drove in that direction. "I can feel my soul but there's something else-" 

She has to slam on the brakes when a huge burst of light hits the ground almost directly in front of her, making her car shake from the force. She lurches forward, gasping for breath as the car comes to a hard halt. She has to take a moment to gather herself enough to respond to Kyle, who has asked several times if she's okay, having heard the sudden commotion She ignores him, simply presses the button on the steering wheel to hang up the call. The blinding light in front of her is still there, and she shields her eyes as she slowly pushes open the door, walking out onto the street. She was actually in the middle of the far left lane, but she honestly didn't care; She was mostly out of the way of traffic, so it was the least of her concerns right now. 

Something was telling her to move closer to the light, which was still glowing hot and bright. A piece of her soul was in there, she just knew it, she could feel it. As she steps closer, the light begins dimming, and… from the center of the bright light, an arm outstretches to her, palm up. In the palm of that hand was a shard of her soul. She stares at it, afraid to pick it up, her mind swimming with confusion as she tries to figure all of this out. A hand? Was this an Etherian? She tries remembering where she's felt this warmth before, and she only remembers when she looks up at the body that arm is attached to, the light having dimmed down to a subtle glow. A First One, she finally remembers... Her heart stops when she sees who exactly it is, her jaw dropping in shock.

There, holding that piece of her soul, was Adora. 


	2. Chapter 2

Catra can't bring herself to move, simply staring at the woman in front of her. She can't form thoughts or words at the moment. She just can't believe that Adora is here in front of her, holding a shard of her soul--wait,  _ why _ -? "What are you…what are you doing with that?" She asks quietly, finally able to get the words out. "Why the hell are you here?" After the initial shock quickly wears off, anger begins filling her, starting right where her soul should be. She may not be able to feel much, but Goddamn, could she feel anger. 

Adora doesn't say anything for a moment. Then, she looks away. She doesn't put her hand down. "Take it," She murmurs, avoiding looking at her. Catra scoffs. 

"Seriously? What the fuck, Adora, where did you- why do you have that?" She snatches it out of her hand, cupping the pendant around her neck in both hands, letting the shard absorb into the crystal pendant. Adora crosses her arms. 

"I came to help you. I brought that as… a peace offering?" She sounds uncertain, wincing, as if that was the wrong thing to say. Catra laughs out loud. 

"You brought me a piece of my own soul to try and make it up to me? The soul  _ you  _ broke in the first place?" She snaps, stepping closer, anger beginning to emanate off of her. "The soul-- _ my _ soul--you  _ shattered _ ?" 

Adora takes a step back. "Catra, listen, I-" 

"Listen? Oh, you want me to listen?" She grins, unable to contain her anger much anymore. "You want me to listen to you, when you didn't listen to  _ me _ beg for you to hear me out?" She laughs and looks away. "You really…you really are fucked up if you think I'm gonna stand here and-" 

"I'll explain everything later," Adora quickly interrupts, sounding just a bit frustrated. "I need you to trust me- Look, I really came to pardon you on behalf of the First Ones."

Catra states at her a moment, confused. "Pardon me- what the hell do you mean?" She demands, stepping closer. "What happened?" 

"I'll explain it all soon," Adora repeats, sighing. "But I'm here to help you get your soul shards back, that's all I'm saying for now." 

Catra groans, rubbing her hands over her face. She's about to protest when a car drives by quickly, honking their horn at her for taking up the lane, making her jump in surprise. "Fuck- I have to move-" She hurriedly gets back in her car, and she looks back to where Adora stood--only to find her gone.

Of course…

Catra sits there for a moment more, hands gripping the wheel tight. She takes a few deep breaths before she begins driving again, making a call to Kyle, who was probably pretty worried at the moment. Kyle doesn't even let it ring once before he picks up. 

"Catra, oh my God, you're okay!" He exclaims in relief. "What happened?" Catra sighs shakily. 

"It was Adora- you know, the uh, the First One," She explains, her voice strained. "I don't know if you know-" 

"I know her," He quickly interjects. "Why is she here?" His tone has almost completely shifted to one of discomfort.

"She said she came to help me get my soul shards back." She shakes her head slightly. "Did you not know about this?" She asks, a little confused. 

Kyle doesn't say anything for a moment, and all Catra can hear is rustling of paper, a voice somewhere else in the room, then a sigh. "No," He finally says, exasperated. "They just sent word to me, literally just now… about your pardon, I mean. They didn't even know about Adora making her way down today, she must've done this without permission from the First Ones." He sounds uneasy. "Be careful around her, Catra. You know what she's capable of." 

Catra goes quiet, that awful day replaying in her mind several times over as he says that. It takes extreme effort to keep her focus on the road ahead of her. "I-I know," She finally responds, her voice quiet and strained. "I know." 

Kyle sighs. "Call me if you need anything. I'm here to help you. I… may not be able to do much, but I'm still here," He tells her. She's kind of curious as to what he means by that. He can do basically anything, he's a First One- well, at least, she assumed-- no, she needed to focus on other things… like not crashing. 

"Yeah, thanks Kyle. I'm almost home, I'm gonna go…" After a quick goodbye, Catra hangs up, pulling into her parking spot. Running a hand through her hair, she gets out of her car and heads to her apartment. 

She stops dead in her tracks at the front door, a wave of warm energy washing over her. Adora. She shuts her eyes tight, groaning in frustration. She honestly wishes she would just go away. She wanted Adora gone, she wanted her out of her life for good. But there were a lot of unanswered questions that Catra really needed the answers to, now that Adora had shown up. She was pardoned, but why? What made the First Ones change their mind? Adora was down here, without permission, to help. What was the point? 

She takes a deep breath before she pushes open her front door, her eyes closed. She opens them once she's inside, and there's Adora standing in her living room, as if she'd been waiting for her. "Adora… I know you wanna talk but holy shit, can't you just leave me alone and let me do this  _ myself _ ?" 

Adora crosses her arms impatiently. "It's not exactly like you were getting anywhere by doing this yourself, Catra," Adora snaps back, bitterness tinting her words as she crosses her arms. Catra blinks in surprise, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. Wow, she really went there. 

"Are you kidding me?" She whispers. "You didn't make it any easier for me, breaking it  _ that _ much." 

"It's not like I meant to-" 

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious!" Adora insists, frustrated. "I was trying to save your life, I didn't think I- I didn't know I was that powerful, alright?" 

Catra scoffs, shoving past her to get to her room. "I don't care. I don't care about my life. You should've just let me die-" She stops when Adora grabs her wrist, pulling her to a stop. 

"I made a mistake, Catra. I made a huge,  _ huge  _ mistake, for even  _ thinking  _ of suggesting this as a punishment. I've been coming to terms with that since you were cast out." Catra doesn't say anything, not turning around to look at her. Adora continues. "You're being pardoned because Light Spinner was caught." 

_ That _ makes Catra turn around, her eyes a bit wide. "What-?" No way. No way was this happening. 

"Another Sorcerer came to us and told us what she was doing to him. He was scared that his magic would be tainted, so he came to us. When we investigated, we found that he was telling the truth. We found out that not only was she trying to train the younger Sorcerers to use dark magic without telling them, but she was brainwashing and controlling some of them, draining them of their magic, all for her own gain. And that's when we found out what she did to you. What she  _ made _ you do. We know it wasn't really you who tried to take the Sword. We know she made you do it for her own selfish reasons."

Catra stares at her, her breath caught in her throat. Was this really happening right now, or was this some weird fever dream? She hasn't gotten much sleep lately, was this a hallucination? "Why… why are you the one telling me this?" She asks, her voice barely above a whisper. "Kyle is...he's supposed to-" 

"Word travels too slow between him and the Heavens. I thought it'd be faster if I came down myself." She shakes her head slightly. "And… I wanted to be the one to tell you, so I could apologize." Adora sounds guilty, but Catra doesn't really care. Not really.

Catra laughs quietly, hardly able to believe this. It took this long for them to figure it out. It really took them this long to see how fucked up Light Spinner really was, how her dark magic was slowly seeping into the young apprentices and Sorcerers still learning and trying to harness their own magic. It made her sick to think of what happened to her happening to the others back at home. It made her sick to think that she got away with it for this long. "Your apology doesn't mean shit," Catra finally whispers. "You… you wouldn't even listen to me when I tried to defend myself, Adora, I tried to tell you exactly what that other Sorcerer told you. That she was fucking with my head. But you didn't listen." She jabs her in the chest, making Adora flinch a little, taking a step back. 

"Catra, I-"

"And I'm not gonna let you come here and fuck everything up again and  _ try  _ to help, just so you can clear your guilty conscience, okay?" She smiles bitterly, stepping away. "Now get the hell out of my house." 

Adora doesn't move. "I know exactly where each of your soul shards are," She murmurs, making Catra go still. 

"What do you mean, 'you know'?" She asks cautiously. Adora shrugs slightly. 

"I'm a First One… I'm the one who shattered your soul…" She doesn't provide any more explanation than that, but Catra gets it. It makes sense that she'd know... Adora takes a breath and continues before Catra can think of what to say. "And I'm not doing this to clear a guilty conscience. I'm doing this because I care about you, Catra, and doing this was  _ my _ mistake. It should be  _ my  _ job to find those shards… not yours." She gestures to the pendant resting around Catra's neck. Catra takes it in her hand as if to hide it, frowning. Adora sighs. "That's why I brought that shard to you. To prove that I know where they are and that I can help you find the last five."

Catra closes her eyes for a moment , her hand tightening around the pendant that now held two of her soul shards. "Adora…" Her willpower and resistance was beginning to falter. While Adora doesn't dare touch her, she still gives her a look that's something close to desperation. Catra looks back at her, trying to decide if Adora was really telling the truth about this. Despite everything, Adora had never lied to her. Despite desperately wanting her elders' approval, she never lied to get her way. She was a bit selfish, but she was not a liar. Adora honestly had no reason to be doing this, at least none that Catra can think of, other than the reason Adora gave her. 

Finally, after a moment of strained silence, Catra gives in, sighing heavily. "Fine. You can help."

***

"Yeah, I'm not gonna be in for a few weeks." 

Adora glances over to where Catra stands on the other side of her bedroom, on the phone with her boss. She sets down the clothes Catra is making her pack, listening in on the call curiously. She hasn't had many interactions with humans in her lifetime, none like this anyways, and it was interesting to her. She wasn't completely ignorant to how humans lived, however; the Etherians had extremely similar ways of life to what humans have. Basically the same moral laws in place, similar looking cities, jobs, simple small things like that. But there was still that difference, there was still that thing that set humans and Etherians apart--Etherians were godly, magic beings who preferred not to deal with humans or the messes they got themselves into. They--mainly the First Ones, Sorcerers not so much--were praised and prayed to, much like the human concept of gods, but they hardly ever actually stepped in to assist in anything; They preferred to look out only for their own. Adora was happy in the Heavens and she never wanted to leave, but going on this trip with Catra to retrieve the shards scattered across the country would certainly shine a new light on how life on Earth--at least, this part of it--was like. So, she listens to the call, head tilted to the side just a little as she listened. 

"I have some family business to deal with--hey, I don't  _ have  _ to go into detail, that's--I'm pretty sure it's illegal to ask me that…" She scoffs after a beat of silence, rolling her eyes. "Fine, whatever, I didn't like this shitty job anyways." She angrily hangs up the call, tossing her phone down. "Whatever." 

"What was that about?" Adora asks, picking up the clothing she'd set down, folding it neatly into the suitcase Catra had gotten out for her.

Catra sighs and walks over, crossing her arms. "My boss is being stupid about this. It doesn't matter, my soul shards are more important," She mutters, shaking her head a bit. She looks at what Adora is doing and how neat she's being. "Do you- I don't know, do you have anything to bring? Like, clothes or whatever?" She asks, confused. 

Adora looks down at the suitcase. "I…did not bring anything with me," She quietly observes, just a bit upset with herself for not thinking ahead; She had hoped Catra would accept her offer, but she didn't really think of what she'd do  _ after  _ that. "Do you… do you have things I could b-" 

"Yeah, yeah." Catra sighs and walks over to her closet, grabbing a few articles of clothing much outside of Adora's typical style, then comes back and hands them to her with a smirk. "Will these do?" She asks, sarcastically sweet, as Adora takes them, setting them down and inspecting them piece by piece. 

She's quiet for a moment before she smiles, just a bit forced. "Yeah. This is fine, thank you." Catra smirks as Adora begins packing them into the suitcase along with Catra's things. "It's kind of weird having to prepare for a trip like this." 

"What do you mean?" Catra asks, a bit confused as she begins helping her. Adora shrugs a bit. 

"Back in the Heavens we could just kinda… teleport places we didn't wanna walk to," She murmurs, shrugging again. "Now we have to move more on foot than usual." She winces a bit. "Well, it's more like  _ you _ do-"

Catra sighs in exasperation. "Could you not remind me that I've been stripped of every last of my powers?" She asks with a strained smile. "Because I'd love that." She really hated this stupid, powerless, human body. She  _ still  _ hasn't gotten used to it, even after all this time. 

Adora clears her throat. "Yeah, yeah, sorry," She murmurs, closing the suitcase. "Um, anyways, you should get some rest now. We should leave early if we want to make the most of the daylight. The nearest one… isn't actually very near," She says with a forlorn sigh. Catra grimaces. 

"Great." She shuts the suitcase, zips it up, then heads outside to put it in the car. She didn't have the money to fly all over the place, but enough to put gas in her car and shack up in a shitty motel every couple nights. Adora not having any money on Earth and Kyle not able to assist her like that didn't really help much. It… it was really,  _ really  _ stressing her out. She slams her trunk shut after getting the suitcase in it, then leans against it, sighing. She crosses her arms, closing her eyes and bowing her head a little to try and calm herself down. 

This was going to be a long trip. Adora had offered to just pick up all the shards for her and get her home basically that same day, but Catra had refused. As enticing as it was, Catra couldn't take the easy way out of this… She didn't  _ want _ to take the easy way out. Despite none of this really being her fault, she wanted to feel like she earned her place back home… After glancing around a bit, Catra reaches into the pocket of her jacket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, taking one out and lighting it. She didn't do this often, but she felt that after all that she'd been through today, she deserved a bit of a break.

She closes her eyes, trying to clear her mind, at least just for a moment. She had no idea that when she woke up this morning, she'd come face to face with the woman who broke her soul and her heart all at once. She had no idea that she'd be given another shard of her soul, and she had no idea that she'd be going on a trip--with  _ Adora _ \--to find the remaining ones. It was...it was really one hell of a day.

She's distracted by her thoughts, so much so that she doesn't notice Adora walk out to stand beside her. "Since when do you smoke?" She asks, making Catra open her eyes. 

"When do you think?" She mutters bitterly, taking a drag. Adora doesn't respond to that, frowning a little and crossing her arms. Catra sighs quietly. "I hardly ever do it," She tells her. "Just when I'm really stressed or upset, and…" She laughs quietly to herself. "After everything you've put me through today I kinda feel like I need a goddamn smoke," She mutters, shaking her head. 

Adora looks at the ground. "I'm sorry," She offers, her voice quiet. "I know it's a lot, and I'm sorry I put it all on you at once." She looks at her sympathetically, but Catra just shakes her head again. 

She drops her cigarette on the ground, stamping it out with her foot. "Stop apologizing, Adora," She mutters with a sigh. "Let's just get my shards and get this over with, I wanna get home." She starts heading back inside, and Adora follows her, biting her lip.

Catra really was angry with her. It may not really seem like it, but she could definitely feel it. And Catra honestly had every right to be angry with her. Adora did something horrific to her, and she wouldn't be surprised if she was never forgiven for it. But… she wanted to hope that one day she  _ could  _ earn her forgiveness. She wanted to hope that helping her find all of her shards would be a step in the right direction. There was a lot that drove a wedge between them before, back in the Heavens, but this… this was the worst of them all, and it was all Adora's fault. Whatever remaining relationship they had was destroyed when Adora broke her. 

Adora wasn't really sure if Catra could feel anything besides anger right now--losing a soul meant losing what made you whole, your feelings included. As you picked up your shards you slowly regained the ability to feel again, but as of now Catra only had two shards out of seven. It was probable that the only things Catra could feel right now were negative emotions, and… Adora probably wasn't making that any easier on her. She felt bad, she really did, but she wanted to get Catra back home, and it seemed like this was the only way to do it. Catra and Kyle hadn't had any luck on their own, so… She needed to help, and she needed to fix her mistake. 

The rest of the night only holds silence between them, and Catra makes Adora sleep on the couch, not really wanting to be near her anymore than absolutely necessary. She'd already be stuck in a car with her for God knows how long, she didn't wanna sleep next to her right now too… They're up bright and early the next morning, and after a quick call to Kyle to let him know they're leaving to go find her shards, they're on the road and heading to their first destination. Unfortunately, Adora has told her that it's two states over, in the middle of a field twenty miles outside of a small town. It could not get any more obscure than that, Catra thinks. But, regardless, she wanted to go back to the Heavens, so she didn't have a choice. 

To the middle of a field two states over she goes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this was so late and so short and so bad.. I hit some writers block, some drama happened at work, and I have just been... very tired...... I'm gonna try my best to have the next chapter out sooner and have it better than this one. sorry folks


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok im sorry for taking so long... inspiration has been next to nonexistent but I've been trying my best...
> 
> I hit a wall when I had the chapter almost completely done, then decided I hate it so I deleted all of it. so I basically wrote the entire chapter, then rewrote the ENTIRE chapter AGAIN, which is why it took so long. that's an oopsie on my part.
> 
> anyways here it is and thank you for bearing with me!

The silence was deafening. 

Catra wasn't speaking, Adora wasn't speaking, and the radio wasn't even on. The only noise was the soft, quiet whir of the AC. It was honestly almost painful, how quiet they were. What could you say to the woman you cast out? What could you say to the woman who was your ex? What could you say to the woman you destroyed? There wasn't much, that's for sure… They're about halfway through the state now--just Catra's luck to have ended up in California, the westernmost state--having been driving since morning. It was getting late now, but Catra didn't want to stop. She wanted to get this whole thing over as soon as she possibly could.

She rests her elbow against the door, resting her head on her hand as she drives through some boring, desolate road in the night, trying not to think of anything but the road. She notes that they haven't seen a car for miles. The stars are bright. There's a lone tree up on a hill-

"Catra?" 

Catra jumps in surprise, the silence having been broken for the first time in hours. She looks at Adora, sighing. "What?" She acknowledges, looking back out at the road. 

"I think we should stop for the night," She says, her voice quiet. "I can tell you're tired, and you shouldn't be driving much longer." 

Catra scoffs, shaking her head. "I'm fine, Adora." 

"I can't drive, so if you fell asleep we'd probably crash," Adora mutters, crossing her arms. "Let's find somewhere to stop." 

Catra doesn't say anything. She did have a point, and she hates admitting that Adora is right, even if it's over something this small. "Okay," She murmurs, shifting in her seat. She starts paying more attention to the side of the road, looking for a sign or anything that points to a motel of some sort. Luckily, after a few minutes, one pops up much to Catra's relief. Catra takes the exit the sign says to, then finds the motel, already feeling the tiredness she didn't know she felt seeping in down to her bones.

Adora looks out the window at it, noting that it looks kind of run down and dirty. "This place… looks kinda sketchy," She observes, looking uneasy. "Are you sure you-"

"I'm not made of money, Adora, I'm already draining my entire savings for this trip," Catra mutters as she gets out of the car. Adora shifts in her seat uncomfortably. She knew it'd be tense between them when she came down here, but now it was like...Catra said her name as if it were a curse word. Bitter and angry sounding... "Let's go, I'm tired," Catra says as she knocks on Adora's window. Adora sighs and gets out of the car, following her to the small building where the front desk is. After getting their room keys and a weird look from the person at the front desk, they head to the room. Adora looks around a lot as they do, as if she was amazed and…disgusted…that a place like this could exist. "Stop looking around like that, you look super weird," Catra tells her, her voice low. 

Adora shakes her head a bit. "I've never really seen a place like this before," She murmurs, crossing her arms. 

Catra just sighs in response as she stops in front of their room and unlocking the door. She pushes it open and walks in, flipping on the light. Almost immediately she groans, seeing that there's only one bed in the middle of the room. "Damnit, I said  _ two _ \-  _ ugh _ !" She puts her face in her hands. 

Adora walks in, frowning, closing the door behind her as she looks at the room. She already knew Catra wouldn't want to sleep next to her, it was very obvious. "I'll just sleep on the fl-" She looks down at the carpet, then cringes. There were a variety of stains all over the carpet, some darker than others, all of them making Adora feel a little bit sick. When was the last time this was cleaned? She looks at Catra, grimacing. "Please don't make me," She whispers, pained. Catra looks at her, then down at the floor. 

"Oh." She walks around, inspecting the carpet. "Um, yeah, no," She whispers, disgusted. She was pissed at Adora, sure, and she'd much rather not be with her right now, but…making her sleep on the dank ass floor was a little too far. Then, she sighs. " _ Fine,  _ you can sleep on the bed with me," She murmurs, dropping their suitcase in a corner of the room. "But don't touch me," She grumbles, opening up the suitcase and digging through it to find something to sleep in. Adora sighs and nods a little. 

"I won't," She assures her, crossing her arms. Catra stands up after finding what she's looking for, then heads into the bathroom to change. Adora watches her go, then sits down on the bed when she hears the lock click. She plays with her hands for a moment before she decides to get changed, grabbing her clothes out of the suitcase and taking off her shirt. She's about to put her other one on when Catra walks back out, stopping in her tracks when she's Adora. Adora gasps and quickly covers herself. "Oh my-" 

Catra doesn't say anything, simply closing her eyes and turning away. She waits a moment as Adora hurriedly puts her shirt on. "Done?" She asks quietly, and Adora nods. 

"Yeah, sorry." 

Catra opens her eyes to see Adora's pale cheeks are tinted red, embarrassment written all over her face. "It's nothing I haven't seen before," She reminds her with a smug smirk as she grabs her jacket and opens the door. "Finish getting changed, I'm gonna make a phone call." She closes the door, leaving Adora alone. Adora watches her go, feeling a wave of warmth wash over her at the memories of Catra--in bed, of course--that begin to replay in her mind. 

_ "It's nothing I haven't seen before."  _

Adora puts her face in her hands, trying to push the memories out. She should  _ not _ be thinking about all that right now, not when Catra basically hates her, not after all she's done… 

Catra stands outside, pulling out the carton of cigarettes she had earlier out of her pocket. There's only a couple left, much to Catra's sadness, but she still takes one out and lights it, leaning against the wall and taking out her phone, unlocking it. She dials Kyle's number and calls him, putting the phone up to his ear, waiting patiently for him to pick up.

"Catra, hey. How's it going?" Kyle's ever cheery voice answers, and Catra can't help but smile a little bit. 

"Um… about as good it can, I guess," She tells him, taking a drag. She exhales the smoke with a sigh. "She's got me fucking smoking again." 

Kyle sighs. "But you just quit…" He murmurs, sounding sad. 

"I know. I'm just…" She closes her eyes, quiet for a few seconds. "Really fucking stressed and I  _ kinda  _ feel like I deserve it after all this," She tries to justify with a little wave of her hand. Kyle doesn't say anything. She frowns. "I'm not wrong." 

"Yeah, I guess not…" He heaves another sigh. "Please be careful around her," Kyle requests quietly, and Catra's brow furrows in confusion. 

"Okay, you keep saying that, why? I know her better than anyone, I don't really have anything to worry about," She mutters, and Kyle goes quiet again. 

"That's what I thought too, Catra," He murmurs, sounding a bit hurt. "I'm just saying, you guys were together, and she still cast you out-"

"Hey, you don't know  _ anything _ about what really happened between us, Kyle, I'd keep your mouth shut about shit you don't know," Catra warns, her voice low and upset.

Kyle ignores her. "I never told you why I'm down here on Earth, did I?" He asks, and Catra goes quiet again. 

"No," She responds, bewildered by the question. "What does that have to do with anything?" 

"She sent me to Earth too," He tells her, voice firm and strained. "She's why I'm here. She was my friend and I trusted her with my life, and she still sent me down."

Catra can hardly believe what she's hearing right now. "What--what the hell are you talking about?" She asks. "How were you friends with her and I never knew, we've always been together?" 

Kyle sighs quietly, quiet for a moment. "Adora and I were born around the same time, so we were put in the same class of new First Ones. But…I'm half human, Catra, and… and I never got the powers I was supposed to get because they were dulled down by my human side. We only really hung out during lessons and training, but we were still really close. She did her best to help me try and awaken my powers, even when everyone else already had theirs. She didn't give up on me, though, not… not until we graduated and started training directly with the Elders."

Catra's jaw is dropped, her mind spinning as she tries to process what she's hearing. Mostly she's amazed that she never knew about any of this when she was basically stuck to Adora's side all throughout their childhood and adolescence. "Wh…what do you mean? What did she..?" Her voice trails off into silence, and Kyle chuckles. 

"The Elders had told my mother that if I didn't have my powers by the time I turned eighteen that I'd have to stay on Earth. Adora didn't want me to have to go, which is why she trained with me. But, obviously that didn't work out very well for me… anyways, my birthday came and passed and the Elders basically said I was useless to them and no reason to be in the Heavens. So, they told Adora that she was the one who had to send me down to Earth, where I was better suited…"

"Oh my God," She whispers, her hand going to cover her mouth. Kyle chuckles quietly, followed by a sigh. 

"She took me down to Earth, introduced me to my boss, and… left me down there. I've only been back to the Heavens once, and I've been down here for six years. And even though Adora tried to help I haven't… I haven't been able to find it in me to forgive her. I thought we were close back then, I didn't think she'd go through with doing whatever the goddamn Elders told her to do, ya know? But she did." He goes quiet, then, and Catra just takes a breath.

"Shit," She mutters, running a hand through her hair. "I had no idea that happened--I had no idea she did that to you." But she wasn't really surprised. Adora had a bad habit of trying to stay in the favor of her superiors, even if she didn't really realize she was doing it. 

"That's why I'm telling you to just… be careful. Because what she did hasn't happened just once… she could turn on you again, and I just want you to be safe." He pauses. "I'm- I'm so sorry for telling you like this, Catra, I-"

"No, no, it's fine," Catra assures him, her voice quiet. "I, um… I can see why you're worried. But… I can handle myself. I know her better than anyone, I can take it." She smiles into the phone. "I promise." 

Kyle chuckles on the other end. "Yeah, I know you can. You're a strong woman, Catra. Tell me when you find the next shard, okay?" Catra hums and nods. 

"I will…Talk to you later." They exchange a quiet goodbye, then hang up. Catra sighs heavily and slides her phone back into her pocket. She glances down at the cigarette still between her fingers, having burned down to basically nothing by now. She frowns and tosses it into the nearest trash can before heading back inside, closing and locking the door behind her. 

Adora is sitting on the bed, braiding her hair; Catra notices that it's gotten longer since she last saw her, and…it looked good. It suited her… Catra takes a breath and sits down on the bed next to her, taking off her jacket. "Who was that?" Adora asks, her voice quiet. Catra sighs. 

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was talking to Kyle," She tells her, her voice sounding a little more bitter than before.

Tilting her head slightly as she ties off her braid, she raises an eyebrow. She's about to ask why she sounds more upset, but decides that'll just piss her off. Instead, she turns away, deciding not to say anything more. Another silence fills the air around them, and Catra closes her eyes, her hands clenching into fists.

"How could you do that to him?" She finally asks, her voice a whisper. Adora looks at her, confused. 

"Do what-?" 

"Oh, cut the shit, Adora. I know you're the one who sent him to Earth. You sent your  _ friend _ to Earth because of some bullshit chore the Elders sent you to do," She snaps, making Adora go stiff. 

"He told you that?" She asks nervously, a flash of guilt crossing her face. Catra chuckles shaking her head. 

"Yeah, he did. How could you do that? Why didn't you stand up for him?" Why didn't you stand up for me? 

Adora doesn't say anything for a moment, just kind of looking at Catra. It's obvious she's trying to find an excuse, and...it's also obvious that it isn't working, that she can't find the words to say. "I…I was just doing as I was told," She finally murmurs, looking away. 

Catra smiles sadly. "Was that really more important than your friends, Adora?" She asks quietly, looking at her. Adora doesn't respond, making Catra sigh. "I'm going to bed," She mutters, getting up and turning off the light. She gets herself under the covers, then turns away from Adora, who hasn't really moved. After a moment, she too gets under the covers, turning the opposite direction, her back Catra.

Guilt was steadily creeping into Adora yet again. She'd taken Kyle to Earth six years ago, and… she hadn't spoken to him since. They used to be good friends, back when they were young and in training together, but once the Elders saw Adora's potential--and Kyle's lack thereof--they made  _ her _ take him down, seeing that she definitely had the power to make it to Earth while taking another person with her, a power the other Young Ones didn't have quite yet. It was just bad luck that Adora was able to do it at that time. It was also bad luck that the Elders seemed to love her so much more than the others in her class. 

She curls up, shutting her eyes tight. Why did she care so much about being everything they wanted her to be? Why did she care so much about gaining their approval? Why did she care so much that she was willing to betray her friends for something so… so  _ worthless  _ to her now? What was she trying to prove..? 

* * *

_Five years ago_

  
  


_ "I don't get why they expect to so much of me," Adora grumbles as she paces her room. "So what if I was able to hone my powers a little earlier than everyone else in my class, huh?" She crosses her arms, frowning as she continues to pace.  _

_ Catra sighs from where she lies out on Adora's bed. "I don't know. Can you come to bed now, please?" She asks, holding out her arms to her, pouting playfully. "I want a kiss." Adora rolls her eyes at her, shaking her head. Catra huffs and puts her arms down.  _

_ "Can you not, please? I'm being serious," She insists with a sad sigh. "I don't get it." _

_ Catra sits up, rolling her eyes right back at Adora. "Look, Adora, you're a fucking prodigy, okay?" She tells her, as if it should've been pretty obvious. "Your parents were a couple of the most powerful First Ones to ever exist. Obviously the Elders would expect a lot from you, being their kid."  _

_ Adora walks over and sits next to Catra. "I didn't ask for this," She murmurs, looking down as she hugs herself loosely. "I didn't ask to be the child of such powerful people." The pressure put on her to be equally as powerful and amazing as her parents was overwhelming sometimes... _

_ Catra pulls her into her arms, kissing her cheek. "I know you didn't," She affirms, kissing her cheek again. "With them gone, I guess they just think of you as a replacement for them." Adora leans into Catra's embrace, closing her eyes as she fights off tears.  _

_ "They're already making me do their dirty work, Catra," She whispers, thinking back to the look of betrayal on Kyle's face when she took him down to Earth. Catra, of course, knew nothing of this--and she likely never would. Sorcerers and First Ones kept their comfortable distance from each other; They lived in harmonious peace despite the First Ones being superiors, and they kept certain matters private, such as how and what they taught their young. Adora sending Kyle to Earth was just another lesson from the Elders, one the Sorcerers had no business knowing about. _

_ Catra gently rubs her back, deciding not to ask specifically what they were making her do; If Adora had wanted to talk about it, she would've. "I'm sorry," She whispers, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry they just see you as your parents and… and not as Adora…"  _

_ Adora shakes her head a little bit, sniffling. "The worst part is…I feel like I have to be like my parents, like the Elders expect of me. I  _ ** _have_ ** _ to. And I don't know why." Catra hums quietly, thinking.  _

_ "You were just kinda raised with that expectation. It's like, what you were told from birth. You  _ ** _have _ ** _ to be like your parents, because they were all special and powerful or whatever." She taps Adora's head. "It's all in there. Even if you don't want to, your mind is saying you have to live up to these expectations, just like you've been taught since you were a kid. It isn't really your fault." _

_ Adora looks at her sadly. "I never even knew my parents. I don't even know what I have to live up to, but I'm still trying." Being orphaned at just a couple years old left her at a disadvantage in that aspect… _

_ Catra lies down, pulling Adora on top of her. "Yeah, I get that. Light Spinner took me in and raised me when my parents died, but… I guess they were kinda nobodies, since she couldn't give two shits about me," She mutters with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "But even with that she still gets on my case whenever I fuck up." She huffs, and Adora sighs and rests her forehead against Catra's.  _

_ "Tell me it'll be okay," She requests quietly, her voice barely a whisper.  _

_ Catra smiles slightly and takes her face in her hands, gently stroking her cheeks with her thumbs. "It'll be okay, Adora," She whispers. "And if it's not, I'm gonna be right here for you." She offers her a small smile, and Adora can't help but smile back, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Catra's lips.  _

_ "Thank you," She murmurs before kissing her again. Catra responds by kissing her back, wrapping her arms around her neck and keeping her held close. All conversation is forgotten as their minds drift off to each other only.  _

* * *

Present

  
  


Catra wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling hot and a bit suffocated. It didn't help that she dreamed about Adora. Sleeping in the same bed as her again must've messed with her head a little… She blinks a bit, her eyes adjusting to the dark a little. As she wakes up a bit more, she realize she's feeling so warm because Adora is basically attached to her aide right now. Catra grimaces, nudging her to try and get her off of her. "Adora." She doesn't wake up. " _ Adora _ , get  _ off _ ," Catra grumbles sleepily, pushing her more. 

Adora finally wakes up with a bit of a jolt, instinctively moving back a bit. When she realizes what she's doing, she quickly moves away even more, gasping quietly. "I'm so sorry," She whispers, rubbing her eyes a bit. "I didn't mean to."

Catra shakes her head slightly. "It's fine, just...just stay on your side of the bed, okay?" She mutters, lying back down--this time, farther away from Adora. 

Adora looks at her for a moment before lying back down, trying to calm her quickly beating heart. She couldn't lie, she'd dreamt of Catra--again. She'd dreamt of being close to her, like she had several times before coming down to Earth… She felt very out of line right now, but she couldn't help it. She still wanted her. Right now, though, the only thing Catra wanted was her soul, and that was it. Adora just… wasn't a part of what Catra wanted. Not now, and honestly? She might not ever be a part of that again. It kind of killed her a bit, but she knew it was what she deserved. No amount of sorry could fix that.

The next morning, they say nothing to each other as they get up and get ready to get back on the road. Catra decides it's best to just not bring up the previous night. Things were strained enough as it was, things were awkward enough. An accidental flashing and unwelcome cuddling certainly didn't help the situation, that's for sure.

Catra zips up the suitcase, sighing as she hoists it off the bed. "Got all your stuff?" She asks quietly, and Adora nods. Catra nods back at her, and they walk out of the room. "Glad to be out of this shithole," She comments after they've returned the room keys to the front desk. "It was gross. I'm pretty sure we should've checked for bedbugs before we slept." 

Adora shrugs slightly. "In hindsight that would've been smart, yeah," She agrees, opening the trunk of the car for Catra, who doesn't thank her as she puts the suitcase in. She silently gets in the car, waiting for Adora. "Did you wanna stop somewhere for breakfast?" Adora asks as she gets in the car, trying to keep conversation light.

Catra doesn't say anything for a moment before she sighs and closes her eyes. "Can we not do this small talk bullshit, Adora?" She asks, gripping the steering wheel. "We aren't friends. We aren't _ever_ going to be friends again. So just knock it off. The only reason you're here is to help me get my shards back, so let's just fucking keep it that way. Got it?" She asks, frowning. 

Adora honestly doesn't know what to say to her, kind of shocked she'd speak to her like that. So, she says nothing, only answering with a small nod.

Catra sighs and starts the car, not saying anything either. As another silence falls around them, they get back on the road, their only destination being Catra's soul, and nothing more.


	4. Chapter 4

Dawn had barely broken when they left the shitty motel, and the sun was slowly rising higher as they drove. Adora occasionally tells her to make a turn here, a turn there, just so they get to the right place. Catra listens, of course, but she says nothing back to her. It's… honestly starting to piss Adora off. Hours and hours of nothing. They've been next to silent this entire time and it was driving her crazy; back in the Heavens, they'd talk all the time, laughing and smiling and being in love- Adora shakes her head a bit, sighing quietly to herself as she looks out the window. Catra glances at her. 

"Thinking about something?" She asks, her voice quiet. Surprised by the fact that she's actually talking, Adora looks over. 

"I guess. Why?" Adora murmurs, raising an eyebrow. 

"Because you've been sitting there sighing for the past half hour and it's getting on my nerves," Catra explains. "Might as well get it out so I don't have to keep hearing you sigh over it." Adora doesn't respond to her for a moment. 

Then, she sits up a bit straighter. "I was...I was thinking of how we were back in the Heavens, before we broke up." Catra goes visibly tense at the mention of it. "We used to talk all the time so all this quiet between us, it's just- it's just weird, I guess."

"What did you expect?" Catra asks bitterly, not looking over at her. "Did you expect me to be perfectly fine and chatty seeing you after what you did to me?" 

"Well, no-" 

"Then you shouldn't have expected me to want to talk to you at all." 

Adora frowns. "Look, I know I fucked up but you don't have to be such a bitch." Catra's eyes widen a bit at that, an angry look starting to cross her face. However, Adora doesn't really care. "Can you at least _ try _ to make this trip less miserable for the both of us?" She snaps, and Catra laughs at her.

"Really, Adora?" She asks, finally sparing a glance at her- and she does not look happy at all. 

"I don't wanna be in this situation any more than you do, Catra. You think I like sitting here with you so pissed at me? Because I _ really _ don't." Adora looks back out the window, not wanting to look at her anymore. "I don't like it at all." 

"Couple things," Catra starts off with an angry smile. "First of all, this isn't about you. _ You _ caused this, you have no right to be mad at me right now. _You_ came down here all on your own so don’t pin that on me. Second, I stopped caring about what you like and what you want after you broke up with me, so..." She shrugs, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. "So why should I care now?" 

Adora closes her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "Fine," She whispers. "Figured we could at least try and tolerate each other." 

"Didn't know you hated me back," Catra comments, her voice low and upset. "Don't know what I did to you to make you have to _ tolerate _me, but okay I guess..." 

Adora looks at her, a pang of guilt striking her heart. Christ, why was she making this so difficult? "That- you know that isn't what I meant." 

"Then what did you mean?" Catra asks. "I'm serious. Tell me what _ I _ did. Tell me what I did." 

Adora groans in frustration. "You didn't do anything, Catra, I-" She puts her face in her hands. "I don't hate you. I can't. There's- there's nothing to hate you for." Her voice is barely audible, but Catra still hears. And… honestly, she knows what Adora might say next. That she still loved her, that she still wanted her, all that cheesy romantic bullshit. Catra couldn't stand it, she really couldn't. But she's relieved when Adora says nothing. 

She shakes her head, keeping her eyes ahead of her. All talking ceases once again, and there's no sound between them until Catra hears a sniffle from Adora, followed by a shaky inhale. "Are you-" She glances over. "Are you _ crying _?" 

"Can you just stop?" Adora is nearly pleading at this point. "I _ know _ that I've ruined your life, I know what I did was terrible, but I- I'm trying to make it better. I'm trying to help fix us-" 

"I never asked for your help," Catra points out bitterly, ignoring the “us” part. "I don't want to make it better, I don't want to fix this. What I want is my soul, and to go home. You aren't a part of that." Catra could feel how cold she was being. Catra could feel how relentlessly mean she was being, and part of her said Adora deserved it, the angry, upset, heartbroken part of her--the only part of her she's had for the past year--was certain Adora didn't deserve her kindness, if she could even show it. But the empty part of her, the empty, soulless part of her was trying to feel something else, was trying to grasp on to _ anything _ other than anger towards Adora. It was… trying to remember her love, her happiness, her adoration for Adora, but… she didn't feel any of it. She _ couldn't _. It just wasn't possible. She wanted to feel something other than that anger… but she couldn't. 

Adora is stunned into silence for a moment before she smiles slightly, wiping her eyes. "You're right." She looks out the window, going quiet. "I'm sorry." Her voice is soft, quiet, as if she's given up trying to argue anything. 

Catra doesn't respond. Great, maybe she'd shut up now… They drive for a few more hours before, out of nowhere, Catra feels something that's somewhat familiar to her. It was like a pull, a pull of warmth bringing her closer to herself. Her soul. The shard of her soul--they were close. Adora sits up a bit straighter as Catra inhales sharply. "Mm," Catra hums quietly, shifting in her seat. "We're close," She murmurs, pressing down on the gas pedal a bit more. She couldn't wait to have another shard back. She wanted to feel more like herself again. 

It only takes a little while to finally get to where they need to be; the town they drive through was so small, Catra thinks it could've been a village. The field, luckily, had a path she could drive down for a little while before it comes to a stop in front of a fence. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way," Adora observes as she unbuckles her seat belt. Catra is already out of the car and climbing over the fence by the time Adora closes her door. "Ah…" She sighs and follows Catra over the fence. 

"You're so fucking slow," Catra grumbles as she quickly walks towards her soul shard, feeling that pull the closer she got. She lowkey wanted to start running, but the grass in this field was pretty tall, and she didn't want to trip. Adora doesn't respond, simply following her through the grass. It was clear that Catra knew exactly where she was going. Catra finally comes across it, nearly dropping to her knees in relief. "Oh, thank fuck," She whispers, picking it up. She looks at it for a moment before she grips the pendant around her neck, letting the shard absorb into the crystal. It glows just a little bit brighter when Catra inspects it after. Already she feels better. She stands up, taking a deep breath. "Let's go," She whispers, starting to walk back to the car.

Adora continues to follow behind her, wondering what Catra's thinking. She's probably glad she's one step closer to getting back into the Heavens, and one step closer to being rid of Adora for good. They get back in the car after hopping the fence, and Catra leans back in her seat, her eyes closed. She doesn't say anything for a moment or two before she sits up again and starts the car. "You okay?" Adora asks quietly, and Catra nods. Three down, four to go.

"Yeah. Where to next?" 

* * *

Night has fallen around them as they make their way to their next destination, a quiet, isolated place in some forest in Colorado, unaccessible unless you hiked there; it was about a days drive away, too. Catra wasn't thrilled about it, but if it meant getting shards back, she'd gladly do it. Adora's been asleep for the past hour or so, her head leaned up against the window, her jacket covering her. Catra had no intentions of sleeping; she wanted to get this all done and over with. Catra looks over every now and then to see if she's still asleep--she always is. Ever since picking up her shard she's felt a slight twinge of guilt for the way she was speaking to her earlier. On one hand, she was relieved she could feel something other than anger towards Adora, but on the other hand, now she felt kind of bad for being a bitch. 

She glances over at Adora again, looking at her a bit longer. This was the most relaxed Adora has looked since she got here. Catra looks away, shaking her head a bit as her mind wanders to all the times in the past when she's woken up next to Adora, woken up to her illuminated by early morning sunlight and her own soft, natural glow. She remembers never getting tired of seeing it, she remembers never getting tired of the feeling of Adora next to her… She sighs. Sure, she remembers, but… not many feelings were stirred up by the memories. It felt odd to remember things she used to hold dear to her heart and _ not _feeling the love and longing she felt for Adora before her soul was shattered. She wondered if that would change.

She shifts in her seat a bit, rolling her neck and sighing again as she tried to get more comfortable; she'd been driving nonstop for hours after all. Adora stirs a little when Catra sighs, and Catra looks over at her. Jeez, Adora was a light sleeper… "What time is it? Are we almost there?" She asks in a quiet, tired tone, still half asleep with her eyes closed as she kept her head rested against the window.

"No," Catra tells her. "We've still got, like, twelve more hours. And it's…" She looks at the clock on her dashboard. "Midnight."

Adora frowns, wincing at how long they've got left. "God, we've been driving forever. You should… you should really get some sleep." She murmurs, her words starting to slur together a little as she starts falling back asleep. Catra shakes her head slightly. 

"Can't really do that while I'm driving, can I?" She looks at Adora, expecting an answer, but it never comes. Adora is fast asleep yet again. Catra looks away, back at the road ahead of her. Well, that solved that. No sleep for her quiet yet… 

The sun starts coming up about six hours later, and Catra has long since mentally checked out, relying on instinct to keep them on the road. Adora wakes up when a beam of sunlight bounces off a shiny part of the dashboard and into her eyes. "Ow-" She rubs her eyes as she regains consciousness. Catra glances over at her. 

"You okay?" She asks, and Adora nods, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and looking out the window at their surroundings. 

"Mm. It's early," She murmurs, looking at all the trees and plants around them. "And pretty." Catra nods in agreement, and Adora looks at her. "We should stop and get something to eat," She tells her. "If you're not gonna stop to sleep, you should at least eat something." She frowns a bit. "And I haven't eaten in, like, a day and a half."

"Shit, has it been that long?" Catra mumbles idly to herself. "Yeah, sure, whatever…" She sits up, shaking her head to wake herself up a little. "We're getting close to a city, um...Boulder?" She eyes the GPS on her phone attached to her dash that she's had set up while Adora slept. "We can stop on our way through." Adora nods and rests against the window. 

She had to say, Catra's attitude has changed just a little; However, she's certain it's just because Catra is too tired to really argue or snap at her. She'll enjoy it while it lasts, honestly… As buildings come into view, Adora starts feeling relieved. She could use a good moment to rest and a good meal. Catra drives around for a while, looking for somewhere to stop that wasn't shitty fast food. She hums when she spots a cozy looking diner on a corner of a street. "Are we gonna stop there?" Adora asks, pointing to the restaurant. Catra nods, pulling into the parking lot. 

"Don't go looking around like a dumbass again. We have this kinda shit in the Heavens too," She grumbles, not wanting to be embarrassed again. Adora frowns. 

"Well--well they aren't like _ this _ at home," She points out as they get out of the car. "Humans have far different tastes in not only food but decor than we do." She crosses her arms as they start walking inside. "We aren't as tacky."

Catra snorts out a laugh, then covers her mouth in surprise. Well, that was new. That was the first time she's genuinely laughed since she got here on Earth. Adora looks at her, surprised. "Shit," Catra whispers, clearing her throat. "Pretend that didn't happen."

Adora smirks. "Okay," She says with a nod, pulling open the door for Catra. They're seated quickly, as it's still early and there's hardly anyone here. They sit across from each other, and Catra immediately orders two coffees, both for herself. Adora folds her hands on top of the table as Catra begins downing the hot liquid. "Be careful." 

"I'm fine," Catra insists, even though she winces at the burn. She sets the mug down, clearing her throat. "Get whatever you want," She murmurs, gesturing to the menus that have been placed in front of them. Adora nods, and the two of them quickly look over the menus--Adora stares a little too long, amazed at all the different choices and options. Hm. Humans, ever so unsatisfied with the simple things in life… 

The two of them place their orders, each ordering something light. Adora turns her glass of water in her hands, swiping away the condensation with her thumbs as she stares at it. "You seem better," She finally says, looking up at Catra. 

Catra nods picking up her mug. "I feel a little better honestly," She tells her, sipping her coffee. "I know I'm less than halfway there but…I don't know, it's nice to feel something other than just… _ negativity _." She sighs. "It's not much but it's something."

Adora smiles a bit, nodding but saying nothing. A few moments later, their food is brought out to them, and they eat quietly. Not much conversation is had, mostly because they're far too busy eating for the first time in a day. Catra pays after, and they're right back in the car, driving to their destination. Adora, relieved that she actually got Catra to talk, decides to try and get her to open up a bit more. They were making progress, she thought. "So, um… sorry if I'm intruding, but…" She shrugs a bit. "What's life been like down here?" She asks, looking at her. 

Catra looks a bit surprised by the question. "Um…" She leans back in her seat a bit, thinking. She smirks. "Boring as shit."

Adora rolls her eyes, fighting a smile. "Really?" 

Catra shrugs, glancing at her. "Yeah. I don't have any friends down here besides Kyle," She explains. She turns back to the road, then. "It's been hard." Adora nods a little. 

"I'm-"

"Don't even try to say you're sorry right now," Catra warns quietly, her demeanor shifting entirely as she cuts her off. "I'm not trying to argue, I'm tired." 

"Well, I-" Adora crosses her arms, looking down at her lap. "Okay." She bites her lip, trying to think of what to say next. Catra speaks for her. 

"So…" Her voice is low. "What's gonna happen to Light Spinner?" She asks, and Adora looks up, a bit surprised. "She got caught, didn't she?" Catra adds on when Adora responds. 

Adora nods quickly. "Yeah, yeah, of course, um…" She takes a deep breath. "I didn't stay around long enough to hear the ruling. But… I'm guessing they're going to give her the death penalty," She explains. "I left to come get you the second they said she was guilty." 

Catra nods slowly. She isn't exactly sure how to feel. "Oh." She clears her throat a bit. "Okay."

Adora hesitates on her next question, but… she's been curious for some time now. "What…what exactly did she do?" She asks, and Catra goes stiff. 

She doesn't respond.

"I- I'm sorry for asking that, it's-" 

"Have you ever been brainwashed? Possessed? What the fuck ever it is?" She asks bitterly. "Ever had your body hijacked?" Adora doesn't need to answer. "Because it's like…you're stuck in your head, watching your body move and act without being able to stop it. It's torture, doing things you don't want to do." She feels a lump forming in her throat, remembering all she'd been through. "I- I had to watch myself try and take that fucking sword," She whispers. "Light Spinner made me do her dirty work, more than once. She- She tainted my magic and drained my power for herself so I couldn't even fight back." Adora doesn't speak, looking at Catra, just letting her talk. It was apparent to her now that Catra had never actually talked about this to anyone. Catra sniffles. "You know, I was on my way to being one of the best Sorcerers Etheria had ever seen. And she knew that too." She smiles. "She hated that, I think. Because that meant I'd be replacing her." She chuckles, shaking her head. "So what did she do?" 

"She made you commit the worst crime she could think of…" Adora provides, her voice quiet. Catra chuckles and nods. 

"Yeah. I mean, aside from getting me caught or killed, she really did want that sword for herself."

"Why? I don't understand." 

"Well, that thing holds like, a shit ton of power, more than anyone knows what to do with," Catra explains. "You know that. She wanted that power for herself. She was tired of the First Ones being in command. She felt that us Sorcerers were just second class citizens. She felt that we deserved more." She shifts in her seat. "_ She _ wanted to be in control. Of the _ entire _ Heavens and everyone in it." 

Adora's eyes widen a bit. "Wh- Seriously?" She asks, shocked. "Was she planning on killing us?"

"I honestly have no idea," Catra answers with a sigh. "She never told me. All I knew was… she wanted me gone, and she wanted to be in power. Prove that she was the most powerful Sorcerer there was." She smiles a little. "And me trying to take that sword was one way she could get rid of me. I think she was counting on me being caught, to be honest," She says with a shake of her head. "And I didn't have the power to fight back." She smiles at Adora. "But the worst part?"

Adora looks away, feeling a weird, sick feeling in her stomach. "What?" 

"The worst part was not being able to stand up for myself during my trial. She took everything from me, and I couldn't even tell the First Ones that before you shattered my soul," Catra tells her sadly. Adora flinches uncomfortably, looking away from Catra. She guessed that's what Catra meant… Catra tries to keep her anger away, feeling it start to rise up again. She takes a shaky breath. "Nothing to do about it now," She mumbles, shaking her head a bit. "So…whatever." 

Adora looks at her. "For what it's worth… I really am sorry I didn't stop." Catra doesn't respond, but Adora kind of expected that too. She turns away again, looking out the window. Right… She honestly couldn't believe Catra had been going through so much without telling her. They were nearly inseparable, how did she never--oh. All of this must've happened after they broke up. Shit. 

She decides not to push, having a feeling Catra is done with this conversation. So Adora just watches the scenery pass by, keeping her eyes out the window. Huh… Earth was pretty beautiful--at least, this little bit of it. It's a couple hours later when Catra finally turns into a heavily wooded area, the road being only made of dirt at the point. It led to where the hiking trail they needed to take started. She pulls into the parking lot, where they see a few cars already parked. Other hikers were out today, which made Catra just a little uneasy. So far her shards had been out of human sight, and she knew, logically, that humans couldn't see them, but she still worried anyways. The get out of the car, and Catra goes into the trunk and pulls out a backpack she'd already packed water and a little food in. She could feel her shard somewhere close, but she didn't know how long it would take them to get there, considering they'd have to go off the set hiking trail at one point.

Adora walks over a small billboard at the entrance of the parking lot while Catra finishes getting everything ready, looking it over. It gave simple information on the forest and on the trail, and provided maps so hikers didn't get lost. "Should we take a map?" She asks, and Catra walks over, shaking her head. 

"We'll be fine. Let's go, I wanna get this done before night." She starts walking towards the trail. Adora huffs and grabs a map before following after her, folding it and sliding it into her pocket. Better safe than sorry. 

* * *

Catra tilts her head to the side when she hears the sound of running water somewhere nearby. Not only that, but the energy her soul gave off was getting stronger. "We're getting close," She tells Adora, who has been lingering behind her practically the whole time. This was more walking than she's done in a long, long time, if ever at all, honestly.

Sighing in relief, Adora catches up with Catra. "Yeah, the energy's getting stronger," Adora observes, glancing around. "I think it's near the water," She tells her, and Catra nods slightly before stepping off the trail, slipping under the ropes that separated the trail from the rest of the forest. She walks towards the water with Adora right behind her. 

Upon arriving to the edge of a stream, they see that there's a couple of people on the other side, standing on big rocks that sat in the water. Catra feels her shard extremely close at this point, and she's looking around for any sign of it, looking around for the glow and avoiding the people across from them. "God, where the hell is it?" She mutters to herself, getting upset. She starts walking along the water’s edge, looking in the water, in the bushes around near the water, hoping to see it somewhere.

Adora looks around a bit too, but she doesn’t see anything either. It was confusing, the energy was so strong but it was nowhere to be seen. She doesn’t really know what compels her to do so, but she looks across the water and her eyes land back on the couple across the stream, one of whom has picked something up out of the water. And that's when Adora sees the glow in the person's hand. Her eyes widen as she turns to Catra, shocked that this is even happening right now. "Oh my- Catra, look," She whispers frantically, waving for her to come closer. When she does, she grabs Catra's arm and points ever so slightly at the couple across the stream. Catra turns to see what Adora is so worked up about, and then sees it too, her breath catching in her throat. 

"Oh fuck. Oh _fuck_.”


	5. Chapter 5

"Why- how can-" Catra is baffled by what she's seeing right now. "Humans aren't supposed to be able to…" Her voice trails off, her eyes a bit wide as she watches the people across the stream turn her shard over in their hands, inspecting it, handing it back and forth between each other, talking quietly to each other. She's in too much shock to just run over and stop them. 

Adora narrows her eyes, tilting her head a bit. "No. No, those aren't humans, they're--oh. Oh!" She grabs Catra's hand and starts jumping onto the rocks in the stream that were surfaced enough to act as stepping stones. Catra struggles to keep up, trying not to fall into the water.

"Adora, what the hell?!" Catra gasps as they make it to the shore. Adora doesn't respond, walking right up to the couple that holds Catra's shard. 

"What are you doing?" Adora asks quietly, frowning. The couple turns to her.

One of the women puts a hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell does it matter to you?" She asks, and Catra glares.

"You see that thing you're holding?" She asks, and before she can continue the woman smirks. 

"I'm guessing it's yours then?" She asks, watching as it glows brighter as she holds it out to Catra. Catra quickly takes it without answering her, letting it absorb into her pendant, not wanting to have it away from her any longer. She was already feeling a little better--but now she was wondering what other Etherians were doing down here. 

"What are you doing on Earth?" Adora demands, the air of authority she had in the Heavens emanating off of her. It intimidates Catra a bit, and it's clear the women in front of them feel it too.

The taller of the two laughs nervously. "Well, you see- um… what we're doing down here…" She looks up in thought as she tries to think of what to say. The other rolls her eyes, shaking off Adora's intimidation. 

"We're hiking, obviously." She looks between Catra and Adora. "What are  _ you  _ doing down h- wait." She stops, looking Catra over a bit more closely. "Catra.  _ Catra _ ?" Catra looks confused for a moment, looking her over for a moment. Then, something clicks in her mind. She knows her. Wait, she knows her. 

"L-Lonnie?" She whispers, confused. She'd almost completely forgotten she existed after all these years. Adora looks at Catra, confused.

"You know her?" She murmurs in question, and Catra nods quickly. 

"We were friends when we were little kids, Light Spinner was training us together. She just- she just disappeared one day, I… Lonnie, what the hell are you doing here, for real?" Catra demands, stepping closer to her, visibly concerned. 

Lonnie shrugs a bit, crossing her arms. "My parents and I ran away," She explains simply, and Catra shakes her head. 

"What do you mean-?" 

"I mean, my parents took me, and left the Heavens to be on Earth. They knew about Light Spinner's bullshit, they didn't want me around that." She heaves a sigh. "So I've been here. Grew up here." 

"In the forest?" Adora asks with a raised eyebrow, glancing around. Catra elbows Adora, making the other wince and rub her arm where Catra hit her. "Shit- Don't do that!" 

"Obviously she didn't live the goddamn forest, Adora," Catra says with an exasperated sigh.

Lonnie smirks. "Nah, she's right. My family's got a cabin up there." She gestures behind them towards a separate path that led away from the river. "Up this path, that's where I live." Catra narrows her eyes. 

" _ Anyways _ ," She mutters. "Thanks for finding my shard, we were scared some random humans had found it." 

"Well, we were curious about why a soul shard was down here, we hadn't heard of any shatterings lately," The taller woman thinks out loud, rubbing her chin in thought. Catra points at her, remembering the other woman had been here all along. 

"Oh, yeah, um… Who's that?" She asks, sure that she's never met her before. Lonnie looks at the woman. 

"Ah, right, this is Scorpia, my girlfriend. She's from a different district in the Heavens, she was a Sorcerer too, but…" She sighs. "Well, she saw something she wasn't supposed to, and… she ran." She looks at the two women in front of her. "Don't snitch." Catra raises an eyebrow, confused by that little statement. But she just nods, deciding not to question it for now. 

"...Okay, there shouldn't be this many Etherians on Earth," Adora murmurs, shaking her head a bit. "At least in this area, this is a really crazy coincidence." 

"Hey, it's a small world," Scorpia teases with a grin, nudging Adora with her elbow. "Why don't you guys come on up to the house, you look exhausted. Lonnie's a really good cook, I'm sure she could whip something up!" She turns and starts walking up the path.

Lonnie looks at the two of them. "You don't have to stay, if you've got more important stuff to do," She tells them, glancing at the pendant around Catra's neck. Catra looks at Adora, then back at Lonnie. She figured Adora could use a decent break from the car and the walking, so she nods. She could totally use a break too. 

"A break would be nice, actually," She says quietly, smiling a bit. "Thanks." Lonnie hums and nods, turning and gesturing for them to follow her. They start walking, and Adora steps a bit closer to Catra. 

"Thank you," She whispers. "Being in the car so much is driving me crazy," She admits, and Catra rubs the back of her neck. 

"Sorry I'm rushing so much," She murmurs, glancing at Adora. "I guess I'm just really desperate to get home." 

Adora shakes her head. "Don't worry, I get it," She assures her with a smile. "I think we both need a break, though." Catra nods in agreement, sighing. 

"Yeah." 

* * *

After a nice dinner from Lonnie, they sit in her living room, relaxing. They've been chatting idly about this and that but then Lonnie clears her throat a bit, deciding to address the reason Catra and Adora are even here. "So, uh… forgive me for asking but how the hell did your soul get shattered, Catra?" Lonnie asks, totally confused. "What did you even do, you were a good kid back then, I can't imagine…" Her voice trails off as Catra closes her eyes, sighing quietly to herself. 

"It…" She shifts uncomfortably, rubbing her arm. "It's a long story…" 

"Well we've got time, don't we Lon?" Scorpia says with a big smile as she looks at Lonnie, having failed to read the room. Adora raises an eyebrow, then looks at Catra. 

"Hey, you don't have to tell them if you don't want to," She reminds her, resting a hand on her arm. Catra shakes it off, turning away from her as all those bitter memories come flooding back. Adora flinches back, a bit surprised. Huh… 

Catra decides to just get it over with. "Light Spinner got into my head, and she manipulated me into trying to steal the Sword of Protection," Catra explains simply, sighing. Lonnie and Scorpia both gasp in shock. 

"Holy  _ shit _ , why the fuck aren't you dead?" Lonnie whispers, eyebrows raised in shock. "That's like, literally a death sentence!" 

Catra smirks, glancing at Adora. "Adora here suggested that instead of killing me… she shatter my soul instead." Her chest hurts with the memory of her soul cracking inside of her, and she tries to smile through the painful memory. "It…sucked, honestly," She tries to play it off casually.

Scorpia looks at Adora. "How could you do that?" She asks, her voice barely above a whisper. "That's the worst thing a First One can do…" 

Adora shrinks in on herself a little bit, looking down at her lap. "I, um-" She bites her lip for a moment. "-I thought it was better than killing her," She admits quietly. "Catra and I weren't on the best terms but I didn't want to kill her. The Elders had already made me do things I never wanted to do, but this was too far, and… I didn't want blood on my hands because of them, I didn't want to kill someone who didn't deserve-" She stops, shaking her head a bit. Nobody says anything, letting her continue. "They wanted me to be the one to kill Catra, but I-I knew I wouldn't be able to do it, so…" Her voice goes quiet, and she doesn't finish her sentence. She's visibly upset and uncomfortable, not exactly liking having to explain what she went through and how guilty she was over her decision. 

Catra looks away from her, sighing. "Anyways. When Adora and the Elders found out that it hadn't really been me trying to steal the Sword, she came down to Earth to help me find my shards. She had shattered it into seven pieces, and wanted to help get them back." 

Lonnie laughs out loud in pure shock. " _ Seven _ ? No way. Aren't they only supposed to shatter into, like, three pieces?" She asks, looking at Adora, who looks even more guilty as the conversation progresses. 

"It was my first time, and I didn't really know the extent of my power," She murmurs, playing with her hands nervously. "It felt horrible.  _ I _ felt horrible…"

Scorpia looks concerned. "This whole situation is just- it's just so crazy," She tells her with a small, worried smile. "How is it going? How many have you gotten so far?" 

"Yeah, you got  _ seven  _ to look for, there's no way that can be easy," Lonnie adds, laughing a little. "Goddamn, seven shards…" 

Catra sighs, holding her pendant in her hands, feeling the soft warmth of her soul from within the crystal. "I have four now so far," She says. "You guys found the fourth." 

"You know, it's weird how you only found it just now, over a year after Catra's soul was shattered," Adora comments, trying to act normal again. "If you lived here, how come you didn't notice it before?"

Lonnie and Scorpia both shrug. "Honestly, it must've only started glowing this morning, it wasn't there yesterday," Lonnie explains, and Scorpia nods. 

"Mhm. It must've like, activated or whatever when you got close to it," She suggests, raising an eyebrow in thought as she eyes Catra's pendant. "That makes sense to me." 

Catra sighs and shrugs, tired. "Yeah, I guess it does," She agrees, running a hand through her hair. 

"One more thing that I don't understand," Scorpia pipes up again, tapping her chin in thought. "Who's Light Spinner?" 

"Oh- Right, you're from a different district," Adora murmurs. "So, Light Spinner was the head Sorcerer in our district. We only recently found out how corrupt she was," Adora explains, rubbing the back of her neck. "I haven't told Catra this yet, but she's recently started going by Shadow Weaver…fits her evil side better I guess, but she insisted…"

Catra smirks, chuckling. "Shadow Weaver," She repeats quietly. "Yeah, makes sense…" She sighs, resting her head against Adora's arm, suddenly feeling really tired. Adora flinches a bit, but doesn't move. Well this was an improvement. An odd improvement but it was something. 

Scorpia doesn't say anything, lost in thought. "Shadow Weaver… that sounds so familiar," She mumbles to herself, so quiet nobody else really hears her. She shakes her head, losing her train of thought. "Anyways, it's getting kinda late, right guys? I'll show you to the guest room--you guys are fine with sharing, right?" She asks, looking between Catra and Adora. 

They exchange a look before Catra just shrugs. Catra has stopped feeling and being so angry, much to Adora's relief, and she was even more relieved that Catra wasn't opposed to the idea of being that close to her anymore. Scorpia gets up and leads them upstairs to a room that wasn't in use. It was decently sized, and the bed was big and very comfortable looking. Big enough that they could sleep at a comfortable distance from each other. After wishing them a goodnight on behalf of her and Lonnie, Scorpia takes her leave, closing the door behind her. Catra and Adora look at each other for a moment before Catra sighs and looks away, walking towards the bed.

"All our clothes and shit is still in the car," She mutters after making the realization. "Great. No pajamas." She takes a breath and takes off her shirt, casually tossing it onto a chair nearby. Adora feels her face go warm as she watches Catra get undressed down to her underwear. 

"Are you--are you sure that's-" Adora starts stuttering, which is fucking weird considering Adora was almost never this flustered. Catra raises an eyebrow, glancing over at her. 

"Well I'm not gonna sleep in my jeans, Adora," Catra says as if it should be obvious. "And neither are you, get those off." She gestures to Adora's pants. Adora sighs and does as she's told, purposely avoiding eye contact as she does. She opts to leave her shirt on to save herself some embarrassment as she sits on the bed next to Catra, who stretches out a bit. After feeling Adora's tension, Catra rolls her eyes. "Quit acting as if we've never been naked in front of each other before," She says, her tone exasperated. "And we're not even totally naked." 

Adora rubs her arm, looking down at her lap. "We aren't together anymore though, Catra," Adora reminds her, biting her lip for a second. "So it's… different now." Her voice drops to a whisper. 

Catra doesn't respond for a moment before she nods slightly. "Yeah. I guess you're right," She admits. "I'm gonna turn the light off now," She tells her as she gets under the covers. Adora nods and does the same, turning away from Catra, who turns off the lamp on the nightstand. Moonlight soon fills the room instead, giving everything a soft glow. 

They're both quiet for a long while, trying to sleep, trying to remain unbothered by the situation they're in. Catra is facing away from Adora, and sleep is just...eluding her. She closes her eyes, gripping her pendant, feeling the warmth of her soul in her hand. It honestly felt good to have one more piece of her back. It felt so good to broaden her range of emotions, emotions that had been stunted thanks to losing herself. She tries to recall any feelings or emotions she seems to have forgotten with the loss of her soul, and after remembering the woman that lies beside her, she desperately tries to search for and grasp onto any love she used to feel. She wanted to feel it again--she wanted to remember how it felt to lie next to Adora, to feel her heart flutter with anticipation, to simply be in love. Despite everything Adora had done to her, she never stopped wanting her. She never stopped loving her--she thinks, anyways. But she couldn't find love, and it's frustrating. Why couldn't she feel that love yet? Or… had she actually fallen out of love? No, she's sure she didn't. But the more she thinks about it, the more she tries and fails to remember loving Adora… 

She ends up remembering something else, a different part of hers and Adora's relationship. And it kind of makes her head swim when she realizes she can actually feel something at least akin to love. Biting her lip, she lets go of her pendant and turns to face Adora, scooting closer to her. Adora doesn't move until Catra is right up against her, her arm draped around her waist. 

"Catra, what are you doing?" Adora whispers, confused and in a half asleep daze. Catra doesn't say anything, nuzzling into her neck, very lightly kissing her skin. Adora shudders at the feeling of her lips, closing her eyes again. "What are you…" Her voice trails off as Catra kisses her neck again. The tired, sleepy part of her hoped this wasn't a dream and that Catra really was coming onto her again, but the conscious, sane part of her was more confused than anything. 

"Can we..?" Catra whispers, sliding her hand up Adora's shirt. Adora bites her lip, half tempted to push her off and half tempted to let her keep going. 

"I-I don't know if that's a good idea," Adora tells her, not making any moves to stop Catra as she presses herself up against her as close as she can get. "You're still… not whole-" She inhales sharply when Catra's hand makes its way down instead.

"This is the first time in over a year that I've felt this," Catra whispers in Adora's ear, her fingertips dipping just below the waistband of Adora's underwear. "You miss me." Catra laughs a bit, resting her forehead against Adora's shoulder. "Fuck, I miss me too," She whispers, more to herself. Adora takes a shaky breath. It was true, she really did miss Catra.  _ All _ of Catra, all of what their relationship was. She was still in love with Catra, and she thinks that Catra knew it. She wasn't taking advantage of that little fact, Adora could tell. But what Adora  _ couldn't _ tell was whether or not what Catra had gained with her most recent shard was love, or… just lust, honestly. She hopes deep down that this could be love, that Catra is warming up to the idea of being with her again, even after all they've gone through recently. Maybe this is a stupid decision on her part, but… she decides to hold onto that hope that Catra still loves her. That they've begun working past everything. 

Closing her eyes, Adora rests her hand on top of Catra's guiding it down. "Okay," She whispers, making Catra perk up a bit. She smiles a bit, spreading her legs a little as she felt Catra's fingers on her. Catra grins and kisses Adora's neck, humming quietly, relieved to be allowed. 

Just one more thing she could feel. One step closer to going back home. One step closer to Adora. It might not be exactly the right step, but… it was something.

* * *

Adora wakes up the next morning in Catra's arms, the same place she'd fallen asleep. They were both naked now, having gotten pretty into each other the previous night. Shifting a little bit, Adora kisses Catra's cheek. "You up?" She asks, her voice a whisper. 

Catra hums quietly, barely awake. "Yeah, I'm up," She mumbles, not opening her eyes. Adora smirk, kissing her again. 

"Up. We gotta get back on the road. I know where the next shard is," She tells her, sitting up and stretching out. Catra sighs quietly and opens her eyes, looking Adora over. 

A grin slowly comes to her lips as she recalls the previous night. If she focuses hard enough, she can see Adora's natural glow, and she can see it a bit brighter than it usually is. God, she forgot how gorgeous Adora was like this… She sits up, sighing. "Yeah, let's get up." She swings her legs over the side of the bed, stretching as she steps onto the floor, walking over to her clothes. Adora smiles a bit as she watches her, getting up to get her own clothes. 

After getting dressed, Adora heads over to Catra and hugs her, wrapping her arms around Catra's neck. "I missed you. I really did," She murmurs as Catra rests her hands on her waist. "And…last night was just…great." She can't help but smile at the memory. 

Catra kisses her forehead. "Yeah, it was. I missed you too," She says with a sigh. "As much as I hate to admit that," She grumbles playfully, and Adora laughs, making Catra smile. 

She hugs her closer, her heartbeat picking up pace a bit as she bites her lip for a second. "I love you, Catra," She whispers, looking into her eyes. Catra goes still, then, any trace of playfulness leaving her face, her smile fading.

Did she love Adora back? She doesn't think so. At least, she can't feel if she is or not, not right now. Try as she might, the feeling just isn't there. She'd found that out the night before, and that didn't change now. Debating on whether or not to actually say anything about it, she steps away from Adora, looking away from her. "We should go." 

Bewildered, Adora steps towards her. "Don't you- don't you love me too?" She asks cautiously, smiling nervously. 

Catra crosses her arms, still avoiding eye contact. "...not right now, I don't," Catra admits, her voice quiet.

"Wh- What do you mean? Last night..." Adora murmurs, visibly upset. "Was that not-"

"It wasn't love," Catra says quickly, turning away, suddenly frustrated with the whole situation. "I just- I haven't gotten that far, not yet. I'm sorry if you thought that, but I-I don't love you." Might as well get that out of the way now. 

Stunned, and honestly kind of hurt at how easily Catra admitted to it, she smiles bitterly. "Wow. Then… what really was last night?" She asks, and Catra sighs. 

"It was sex. That's it. You--You have to understand that I don't have everything back yet. You even said it yourself, I wasn't whole. I thought you understood that when we did it," Catra explains, finally looking at her. 

Adora frowns. "Well I thought--I thought that maybe you were coming onto me because you-"

"Because I loved you?" Catra interrupts, and Adora just gives a slight nod. "Then… then that's on  _ you _ ," She tells her, her voice firm. She barely felt guilty for it, honestly. Goddamnit, this was  _ not _ the best situation to be in.. "Every time something comes back to me I don't know what it is. I don't get to choose how far my range of emotions goes after picking up another shard. It sucks. I tried. I  _ tried _ to remember loving you, I tried to feel it, but right now I don't and you need to understand that." Adora doesn't say anything, her expression slowly falling into anger or upset, Catra couldn't really tell, but it definitely was not good. Catra sighs and continues, closing her eyes and looking away. "Last night was… a bad decision, I'll admit that, and I shouldn't have done it. But it was the closest I got to something like love, and I wanted it. I wanted to feel it. I'm sorry, Adora."

Adora stares at her for a long moment before she shakes her head. "Just because you can't feel it doesn't mean I can't either," She mutters before shoving past her to walk out of the room. Catra turns around to watch her, then she huffs and goes after her. 

"I said I was sorry-"

"Well I am  _ so  _ glad you're sorry," Adora snaps, hurrying down the stairs and not turning back to see if Catra is following her. "I don't care." 

"Adora, stop," Catra tries to grab onto her wrist, but Adora yanks it away before she even can. "Adora-" She tries to keep up with her, and they end up walking right by Lonnie and Scorpia, who were sitting in the living room. 

Scorpia stands up. "Good, you guys are awake, I just remembered who-" Lonnie rests a hand on her shoulder and gently pushes her back down. She was confused about what was going on, but she says nothing for the moment.

"Not now, Scorpia," Catra snaps, continuing to follow Adora. 

Adora ignores them all, walking out of the house and slamming the door before Catra can follow her out. Catra stops so the door doesn't hit her, flinching as it slams shut. She stands there, frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do now. It was clear Adora didn't want to be followed, but… they had to get back.

"Okay, now is anyone gonna tell me what the hell is going on?" Lonnie asks, getting up and walking over to Catra. "Seriously, you guys were fine yesterday, I don't-"

"Thanks for letting us stay, but I need to go find her." Catra doesn't say anything else before she walks out, taking a quick glance around before heading back down the path to the stream. Hopefully, Adora hadn't gone far. Hopefully, Adora hadn't gone back to the Heavens and abandoned her. She didn't realize before how much she still lacked, and she seemed to forget that Adora had feelings too. She forgot that Adora never fell out of love with her, and that what she did just fucked with her feelings. 

She felt like  _ such _ a dick right now. 


	6. Chapter 6

Adora stares down into the water around her feet, drops splashing on her now-cuffed jeans. The morning sunlight was making the water glisten as it washed around her, cool and soothing against her skin. She puts her hands in her pocket, thinking to herself. Catra had made a mistake, but… so had she. She wonders if she overreacted about the situation, and if it really had been her bad for letting herself believe that Catra was in love with her again. She decides to take some fault for the situation, admitting to herself that this was kind of her fault too. She closes her eyes, tilting her head back so she can feel the warmth of the sun on her cheeks. It was chilly out, but nothing too bad. 

Feeling the warmth spread through her, her mind starts to wander a bit. She missed Catra. God, did she miss Catra. She'd shown her affection that she hadn't seen since even before her soul shattering. So why was she so angry? She… kind of got what she'd been wanting all this time. Maybe it was the fact that the feeling wasn't there, that what they were doing wasn't out of love. It makes her heart ache, honestly. She jumps a bit when she suddenly hears Catra call out to her. She glances around, a bit upset she'd been found so quickly. 

Catra walks over to Adora after finally spotting her, gripping her shoulder and turning her around. "Finally found you. Come back to the cabin, Adora. I'm _ sorry _, okay?" She gently takes ahold of her wrist. "Seriously. I am. I-I won't do something like that again." 

Adora stares at her for a moment before looking away, taking her hand back. "Me too. I shouldn't have assumed everything I did." She shakes her head and kneels down, picking up her shoes. She stands up and starts walking back up the path, not waiting for Catra to walk with her. 

Catra sighs and follows her, unsure of what to say anymore. She said her piece, she apologized, so…what else was there to say? Once back on the cabin's porch, Adora wipes off her feet before walking back inside, holding the door open for Catra, who quietly thanks her. Upon closing the door, Lonnie and Scorpia look up from where they sit in the living room. 

"Hey, guys, glad you're back!" Scorpia exclaims, standing up and walking over to Catra and Adora. "I already told Catra on her way out but, I just remembered who-" 

"We're just here to grab the rest of our stuff and head back, Scorpia," Adora murmurs, starting to walk back up the stairs. 

Scorpia frowns, upset that she had once more been cut off while trying to tell them something. "Guys, I'm serious! I think this is important!" They all stop and look at Scorpia, surprised she raised her voice. Adora steps back down the few stairs she'd ascended, and Catra crosses her arms. 

Lonnie rests her hand on Scorpia's arm. "It's…really important, Catra," She murmurs, and Scorpia nods.

"At least, I think so- Anyways!" Scorpia looks between Catra and Adora. "Shadow Weaver was the name of the High Sorcerer in my district." She tells them. "I'd completely forgotten until you said it!" 

Catra's eyes widen. "What do you mean?" She asks. Was there…was there multiple Light Spinners..? Adora goes still, a chill going through her.

"No… no, wait," She whispers, looking down at the floor, her brow furrowing in thought. "Scorpia… you said you saw something you weren't supposed to, right?" She asks, and Scorpia suddenly looks awkward. Still, she nods. "And what was that?" 

Scorpia doesn't say anything, making Catra sigh. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asks, and Adora shakes her head a bit.

"Please, Scorpia," Adora urges, trying to sound gentle. "What was it?" 

Scorpia crosses her arms, visibly upset. "It was…It was Shadow Weaver. She was… meeting with this First One, but his aura was completely corrupt. Whatever he did, he'd turned her magic completely dark, totally tainted it. She threatened to have my soul shattered so I just- so I just ran, ya know?" She sighs and shakes her head. "Whoever that First One was, he was super scary." Adora frowns, confused. 

"She must've been moonlighting as another district's Sorcerer so she didn't have to do all of that in her home district," She murmurs in thought. "Whatever she was doing, anyways…" She runs a hand through her hair, a few different thoughts swirling around her already busy mind. "Thank you for this, Scorpia," She tells the woman in front of her. "This helps give us a little insight on the whole situation."

Scorpia nods. "Of course, guys. Catra…" She turns to her. "I'm sorry she… she did that, to your mind, and made you do all those things. You seem like a great person." 

Catra gives her an awkward little smile. "Thanks," She murmurs, taking a breath. "And, um, thank you guys for letting us stay the night. We really needed the break from the car." Adora nods in agreement.

"Actually, you guys can stay for a while more if you want. We don't get much company," Lonnie says with a smile. "And… we should catch up some more, Catra."

Adora looks at Catra. "Your call," She tells her, and Catra thinks for a moment. 

"Yeah, we can stay another day," She agrees with a slight nod. Scorpia claps her hands. 

"Ah, I love guests!" She says cheerfully, smiling at the two of them despite having just revealed some information Adora would've liked to know sooner, honestly… 

Adora smiles slightly. "I'm gonna head back to our room… I need to do some thinking," She says before starting to walk up the stairs again. Everyone else nods, letting her go. Adora doesn't stick around to hear what they start talking about once she's got her back turned. Instead, she hurries up the stairs and into their room, closing and locking the door behind her. 

She stands in the middle of the room, shutting her eyes tight, taking a breath. "Etheria Heavens, show me your light and guide me back home-" She holds her breath, focusing all her energy towards Etheria. And before she knows it… She opens her eyes, blinking a bit at the difference in light. She looks around, relieved by the familiar scenery around her. She was back home, back in the Heavens. She smiles a little before shaking it off, clearing her throat and hurrying out of her room and out her front door. She knew exactly who she had to talk to. 

* * *

"I need to see Angella and Micah," Adora demands at the palace gates, hands on her hips. "It's _ important _," She insists when the guard doesn't say anything. "I-" She huffs in exasperation. "You know me, they know me- come on!" 

The guard rolls his eyes, looking away from her. Adora is about to protest again when a familiar face comes along. "What seems to be the problem here?"

Adora looks up, smiling, relieved. "Glimmer. Thank the First Ones--I need to talk to-" 

Glimmer holds up her hand, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Adora, what are you doing here? Why aren't you on Earth helping Catra?" She asks, and Adora steps towards her, only to be blocked by the guard. 

"Oh come on- Glimmer, tell them to let me in and I'll explain everything," Adora requests, and Glimmer nods, waving the guard off. 

"She's always welcome here," She mutters, narrowing her eyes. "I don't care what my mom says. Princess' orders." She grabs Adora's hand and leads her inside, no longer acknowledging the guard's presence. "So, why do you need to see us so bad?" She asks as they walk down the long halls of the palace.

Adora takes a breath. "I met a Sorcerer from another district, down on Earth, and she told me something… I figured I'd skip talking to the Elders and just talk to your parents instead," She explains, and Glimmer looks surprised. While the Elders were very high up in the hierarchy of the Etheria Heavens, there was still someone above them. That someone happened to be Queen Angella, a First One far above the Elders and High Sorcerers. Not much was brought to her attention if it didn't require it; she left most matters for the First Ones and Sorcerers to deal with themselves, and she only stepped in if situations were dire enough. She wrote all the ancient laws the Heavens abide by, and she, along with her husband, Micah, helped guide the First Ones and Sorcerers down a path of peace and harmony they hadn't known before--she basically provided the foundation of the Heavens they all knew and lived in now. And…Adora just so happened to be friends with her only daughter. 

"Jeez, was it that important?" Glimmer murmurs, and Adora nods. 

"Mhm. Like I said, I'll explain everything." She straightens up a bit. "I probably look like shit, huh?" She asks teasingly, and Glimmer smirks. 

"You look like a human," She says with a chuckle, nudging her side. "Mom and Dad are gonna flip when they see you like this."

"It's- It's not _ that _ different than what we wear," She says with a huff, and Glimmer grins. 

"Mm, it's _ just _ different enough, Adora," She tells her, and Adora laughs a little. 

"Fine, fine, whatever," She says with a smile, shaking her head a bit. Glimmer leads her into her parents' office, a huge room where they could work in peace.

She simply pushes open the door without knocking, not bothering to waste time, if this was so important that Adora skipped right over telling the Elders. "Mom, Dad, Adora has something she needs to tell us," She announces to her parents. Queen Angella and King Micah both look up from their work, a bit surprised by their presence. 

"Adora, hello," Micah greets with a warm smile. "We haven't seen you around in a while. Take a seat," He gestures to the seats in front of his and Angella's desks, which sat next to each other. Angella gives them both a smile and a nod as they sit. 

"It's good to see you girls," She tells them. "But...if I remember correctly, you went down to Earth, didn't you Adora?" She asks, eyeing Adora. Hm, she was certainly dressed like she'd been to Earth… distasteful to say the least, but she'll give her a pass; It appeared she came in urgency. 

Adora nods. "I did," She affirms, looking at her superiors. "But during my time there, I discovered something. I would've gone to the Elders, but I felt that it was too urgent to wait," She explains, and the King and Queen exchange a look. 

"What is it, my dear?" Micah asks, raising an eyebrow. Both Glimmer and Angella look at Adora as well, and Adora takes a breath. 

"I'm sure you're all aware of Shadow Weaver being exposed as a dark, evil presence among the Heavens, am I correct?" She asks, and all three royals nod. "Alright. Well… while on Earth, I met a Sorcerer from a different district. She had run away after seeing the High Sorcerer from her district engaging in contact with a corrupt First One," She begins explaining. "And that High Sorcerer was named Shadow Weaver." 

Angella raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She asks, her voice a bit low. 

"I told her that our High Sorcerer had recently started going by Shadow Weaver, and she told us that that was the name of the High Sorcerer in her district," Adora explains. "I believe that Shadow Weaver was active in two districts at a time without us knowing. Shadow Weaver in one, and her alias, Light Spinner, in the other. Or vice versa."

Micah folds his hands on top of his desk, thinking for a moment. "Is that so…" 

Angella nods slowly. "This is certainly interesting to say the least," She comments, her voice quiet.

Glimmer looks uncomfortable. "What about that corrupt First One you were talking about?" Glimmer mentions, looking at her parents, then at Adora. "We haven't had word of any corruption of anyone until now." 

"I don't have an answer for that," Adora murmurs, shifting in her seat. "Because I haven't witnessed any corruption either, aside from-" She sighs, her breath shaky. "My point is, we need to talk to Shadow Weaver and get information not only on whatever she was plotting to do by tainting her magic and trying to steal the Sword--aside from what we already know--but also on who this corrupt First One is, or- or _ was _, I'm not really sure." She takes a deep breath. "Like I said, though, I felt this was urgent enough to bring to you directly, Your Majesties. I'd like permission to interrogate her, at least for a little while." 

Angella and Micah exchange a look before looking at Adora. "Permission granted. Glimmer, you may accompany her to Shadow Weaver's prison cell." Micah gestures for the two of them to leave. "Bring a guard with you, if you wish." 

Adora gets up. "Thank you," She says, bowing before she and Glimmer head out of the room. Glimmer takes a deep breath. 

"Holy shit," She whispers. "Is all that real?" She asks as they start walking out of the palace towards the prison. This prison was for offenders who were still awaiting trials or sentences, and the Elders and other High Sorcerers were still trying to decide on how to proceed with Shadow Weaver's second trial and her subsequent punishment, having already found her guilty; Her case was so odd they weren't completely sure what to do with her quite yet. 

"Yeah," Adora confirms with a slight nod "It is. At least, I don't have a reason to believe it's not." Glimmer nudges her. 

"Come on, don't have any doubts!" She protests, frowning. "You can't just bring crazy accusations like that to _ my parents _, they could smite you, like, instantly!" 

"Ugh, shut up, it's fine," Adora insists, stopping. She grabs Glimmer's shoulders. "Something more sinister could be going on, or this could all just be the end of it with her getting arrested. Whatever it is, I have to know. Catra got hurt- she got _ cast out _ because of what Shadow Weaver did to her. I can't let that go without finding this out for myself."

Glimmer looks at her, a bit surprised. She… kind of couldn't believe Adora was still so hung up on Catra, even after all this time of being broken up. She was surprised when Adora had gone through with it, but… she was considerably less surprised when she said she regretted it and even _ less _when she said she would be going down to Earth to help Catra. She expected that, considering how in love she was… But that was years ago. Why was she still into her? She didn't really understand. But that was beside the point. "Okay, okay," She says with a sigh. "Let's go." 

* * *

_ Two Years Ago… _

  


_ Adora stands at the palace gates, tears streaming down her face as she pleads with the guards. "Just let me- just let me see Glimmer!" She demands, visibly frustrated. "I don't know why this is such a battle _ ** _every time_ ** _ I come!" She quickly wipes her eyes. "I've been given permission over and over-" _

_ "Guys, come on!" Glimmer stomps over with a huff. "I keep telling you to just let her in!" She pushes the stoic, although annoyed, guards away and grabs Adora's hand. "Come on, let's head inside." She wasn't completely sure what was wrong, but Adora wasn't someone who cried very often, so this was… odd. Adora sticks her tongue out at the guards before wiping her eyes again, letting Glimmer lead her inside and to her bedroom. "What's the matter?" She asks, sitting Adora down on her bed. _

_ Adora sniffles, looking at Glimmer as she sits beside her. "Catra and I broke up," She whispers, tears filling her eyes all over again. "We broke up." She's close to falling apart again, and it's very obvious. Glimmer's expression is immediately sympathetic. _

_ "Oh no, Adora," She whispers, pulling her into a hug. "Oh, I'm so sorry." She rubs her back gently, trying to comfort her. "What happened? You guys are like, inseparable…" _

_ Adora hugs Glimmer back, shutting her eyes tight. "I just… I…" Damnit, why was this so difficult? "I told her I wanted to focus more on my training, and to work closer with the Elders to strengthen my abilities. But she _ ** _hates _ ** _ them, and she hates all that they want me to be but I can't help it, I- I feel so stupid." _

_ Glimmer shakes her head slightly. "No, no, it's okay," She murmurs, squeezing Adora a bit. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. You're just… following the path that's been laid out for you. There's nothing wrong with that at all." _

_ "I feel horrible, I-" She shuts her eyes. "I love her so much, and I didn't want things to end. But she said if I wanted to keep working for the Elders, then she'd leave…" _

_ Glimmer can't find it in her to fault Catra; The Elders were kind of dicks lately, if she was honest. They were too uptight, starting to revert back to old, outdated traditional values, and they didn't respect the Sorcerers as much as they should according to Angella and Micah's laws. Things were becoming tense between the High Sorcerers and the Elders in this district for this reason, and Adora choosing to work more closely with them while she was _**_dating a_** **_Sorcerer_**_ was a bit of a slap in the face honestly. "Maybe you should… rethink this," Glimmer suggests tentatively. "Maybe it's not too late to fix things." _

_ "What?" Adora leans away, looking at her in confusion. Glimmer shrugs a little. _

_ "I just think that… maybe, with all the tension lately, you made a bad choice in deciding to work with them further. Catra is a Sorcerer, and you're working with the people who are starting to treat _ ** _her_ ** _ people like garbage." She sighs, looking away. "It makes sense as to why she'd be upset with you and your decision, is what I'm saying." _

_ Adora stares at her for a moment. "Oh." She takes a breath. "Oh." _

_ Glimmer nods slowly. "Yeah," She whispers. "I'd just… maybe go back and talk to her about this…" She moves closer and puts her arm around Adora's shoulders, hugging her. "I know how much she means to you, and… I know you two are perfect for each other. So go talk to her, and make it alright again." _

_ Adora doesn't say anything for a moment before she goes weak in Glimmer's embrace. "I can't," She says quietly, closing her eyes. "She already said she never wanted to speak to me again, then kicked me out of her house…" _

_ Glimmer is quiet before she sighs and shakes her head. "Then… I don't know what to say. The option is always there. Even if she isn't ready to listen, you can still tell her." She rubs Adora's arm a bit. "It'll be okay, Adora." _

_ Adora slowly brings up her hands to cover her face as a new wave of tears threatens to spill. As Glimmer tries to comfort her, she just thinks about all the different ways she could've actually prevented this falling out. If only she hadn't been born to powerful parents, if only she hadn't had such high expectations put on her from birth, if only… _

_ If only she didn't care so much about fulfilling an empty destiny. _

* * *

Present… 

  


Adora sits down in front of Shadow Weaver, who sat with her eyes trained on Adora from the very first moment she walked in. The room feels cold, as if negative energy had seeped into the air and made it heavy. Adora is unnerved, but she stands strong, trying to remain firm. Shadow Weaver leans against the table, chin rested on her hands. "You're Adora, correct?" She asks, voice soft. 

Adora shivers just a bit at how Shadow Weaver says it, but she tries not to let that show. "Yes," She confirms. "I'm here to ask you about-"

"You were Catra's girlfriend, weren't you?" Shadow Weaver asks. She doesn't wait for Adora to respond before continuing. "She used to come home gushing about you, 'Adora this' and 'Adora that'-" She waves a cuffed hand for emphasis. "Day in and day out. So when she told me you decided to work much closer with the Elders… I had to say I wasn't surprised." 

Adora frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asks, her voice low and her tone starting to turn bitter. Shadow Weaver chuckles. 

"Adora, my dear, one thing you must understand about the Heavens is that First Ones and Sorcerers will never be equal. As much as we try, and as much as King Micah tries, we will never be equal," She tells her, her voice soft and somewhat sweet. "You must also understand that you're part of the problem." 

Adora scoffs in disgust. "I'm not part of _ any _problem," She snaps, narrowing her eyes. "How could you even-" 

"You blindly followed orders, and even _ provided _a- in my opinion -harsher punishment when you wouldn't even hear Catra's case. The Elders told you to do something, and you did it without thinking of her." Shadow Weaver seems to be staring holes into Adora. "Tell me, young First One, if you had been told to listen, would you have? If the Elders told you to hear her case, would you have listened?" 

"I-" Adora can hardly believe this. "Of course I would! What the hell kind of question is that--Look, I'm not here to be interrogated by you, _ you _ caused this whole mess!" 

Shadow Weaver laughs. "Oh, Adora, I didn't cause anything. I was simply fighting for my people. _ You _ were continuing the vicious cycle of superiority by carrying through orders blindly on anyone the Elders thought to be beneath you and your people."

"_ I did not _-"

"You sent young Kyle to Earth, where he doesn't really belong," Shadow Weaver interrupts quietly, making Adora go still in shock. "But because the Elders deemed him useless to them, you did it anyways. You sent an innocent young man who was doing his best to become what was required of him to Earth as a punishment he didn't deserve, a punishment for something he had no control over." 

Adora fights to maintain her composure as she speaks, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "You know _ nothing _about that. You can't talk about that when you don't even know what really happened."

Shadow Weaver states at her, not responding. She tilts her head slightly, as if waiting for Adora to continue.

"And- And how can you say that you were 'fighting for your people' when you were draining young Sorcerers of their magic, and trying to steal the Sword, when you did everything you did to Catra-" 

"Adora, time's up," Glimmer pops in, opening the door to the room a crack. "The guard says we have to go." Adora glances over at her, then at Shadow Weaver.

"We aren't done here," She warns quietly, and Shadow Weaver just chuckles in response, shaking her head to herself. Adora bites her tongue as she quickly gets up and hurries out. Glimmer follows after her as they walk out of the prison, having a bit of trouble keeping up.

"Hey, slow down--what happened in there?" Glimmer asks, confused. "Why are you so angry, was it that bad-?" 

"I don't wanna talk about it right now. I have to get back down to Earth, I- we still have three shards left to go," Adora mutters, keeping up her brisk pace. She stops, then turns to Glimmer, who stops beside her. "I might come back soon. Make sure those bastard guards of yours let me into the palace next time," She murmurs with a slight smile, and Glimmer nods. She's a bit confused by the whole situation, but… 

"Okay. Of course." She gives Adora a hug. "Keep me updated." Adora nods as she hugs her back. 

"See you soon," Adora murmurs, and before Glimmer can register it, Adora is gone, having teleported back to her home to prepare to go back down to Earth. 

* * *

Catra stands in front of their bedroom door, a bit worried. Adora's been locked in there for a while, completely quiet, and it's just a bit concerning. She sighs and knocks, waiting for a moment. Then, after not receiving a response, she knocks again. After once more receiving no response, she's ready to kick down the door, but she stops when she sees a burst of light come from under the door. "Shit-" She gasps. "Seriously?" She steps away from the door as it's pulled open. 

Adora jumps back when she almost runs in Catra. "Oh- Oh, hey, hi, I-" 

"Why were you back in the Heavens?" Catra demands quietly, looking her over. "And… why do you look so pissed off?" She's honestly confused. "What happened?" 

Sighing, Adora closes her eyes. "I talked with Shadow Weaver," She admits, her voice quiet. Catra's eyes widen a bit. 

"You- why the hell would you do that?" Catra asks, bewildered. "What's the point in that, and- and _ how _ were you able to talk to h-" She's cut off when Adora grabs her wrist and pulls her into the room, closing the door.

Adora locks the door again, crossing her arms. "I went right to the King and Queen for help," She confesses. "I didn't even bother with the Elders, I needed to get the facts, not bullshit."

Catra is shocked she was able to actually talk with them for a moment until she remembers Glimmer existed. "Oh. You went to _ her _ for help, huh…" Adora heaves a sigh. 

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't like Glimmer like that? And why the fuck would that matter now, you and I aren't-" She groans in frustration when Catra smirks. "Catra, I'm serious!" 

Catra's smile drops. "Fine," She murmurs. "Fine. Whatever. What's got you so fired up, then?" 

"I didn't… really find out much-" Her mind flashes back to all the accusations pointed at her. "-but… she told me she was just fighting for her people, doing all that she was…"

Catra rolls her eyes. "Right, of course she was," She grumbles, sitting down on the bed and crossing her arms. She didn't believe that for a second. How was what Shadow Weaver did to her part of helping the Sorcerers? How was selfishly taking magic that wasn't hers helping? Was stealing the Sword 

really part of fighting on behalf of the Sorcerers? Bullshit. "Is that all you found out?" She asks, and Adora sighs, sitting down beside her. 

"Yeah, pretty much…" She decides to leave out all the other bullshit she'd been told, feeling pretty terrible about it all. "Anyways," She murmurs, looking at her. "I, um, know where the next shard is, so we can go whenever you're ready," She tells her, resting a hand on top of hers.

Catra glances down at where they're touching, then back up at Adora. She decides not to move, sensing that Adora is stressed and might need some comfort. "Yeah, sure." She nods slightly. "We can head out tomorrow." She wasn't actually sure if Adora was telling her the truth about what she'd learned in the Heavens, but she decides to trust her word. She could honestly tell Adora wasn't telling her _ everything _, but… if it had been important, Adora would've told her.

They sit in silence for a moment before Adora excuses herself, leaving Catra alone in the room. Catra is about to get up to find Lonnie and Scorpia, but her phone buzzing in her pocket distracts her. She pulls it out, then gasps quietly when she sees that it's Kyle, probably calling because he hadn't heard from her. She quickly picks up, and before she can even open her mouth, Kyle is talking. "Catra! I haven't heard from you in _ days _, where the hell are you?" He shouts, sounding rather upset.

Catra winces. "Shit, Kyle, I'm so sorry," She responds. "I am. Adora and I have been busy and focused on finding my shards, I guess I just forgot." 

"I told you to keep in contact with me about all this. This may be a special case, and you may be pardoned, but it's still the law," He warns her, and she's honestly surprised at his tone. "Understand?"

"What's gotten into you, dude?" Catra asks, confused. "Are you really that mad?" 

Kyle heaves a sigh, not responding for a moment. "No, I- It doesn't matter. I just want you to keep me updated, okay? I was worried that something might've happened."

"What do you mean?" She asks. "If you're worried that Adora could hurt me, I promise you she hasn't."

"I know, I know, I trust you, and I-" No, that wasn't true, he didn't trust Adora. "I'm just worried about you. You've become a really good friend and I really want to get you back home. After all you've been through, you deserve it. And… I need to be there to help you through it all, that's my job." 

Catra sighs. "Okay, okay, I get it," She assures him, closing her eyes. "I'll call you more, I promise."

After murmuring a quiet thank you, Kyle goes quiet. "So," He says after a moment. "How is it, being close to Adora like this, given your history and all?" He asks, sounding rather curious.

She smirks. "It's fine. Getting better. We had sex last night," She tells him playfully. "It was actually pretty nice." 

"Damnit, Catra--"

"I'd say we're finally getting along well." 

"I can't believe you," He mutters with a sigh. "Well I'm glad you're doing well, I guess. Good to know you're not miserable."

Catra smiles a bit. "Yeah. I'm pretty glad too."

* * *

Catra sits out on the back porch in a chair with a cigarette in her hand, twirling it between her fingers, hesitating on lighting it. She's staring out at the setting sun, feeling the cool evening breeze against her. It was nice, having this time alone to think… She's brought out of her little trance when the sliding door closes, and someone sits in a chair beside her. 

"Need a light?" Lonnie asks, holding out a lighter. Catra looks over at her, then at the lighter. She hesitate for a moment before holding the cigarette out. 

"Yeah, thanks," She murmurs, and Lonnie nods, lighting it for her then tossing the lighter onto a nearby table. She takes a slow drag before exhaling, closing her eyes. "Thanks."

"No problem," Lonnie says with a small smile. "You doing okay?" She asks, looking her over. "You seem kinda...stressed."

Catra nods and hums. "Yeah, I'm okay. Things are just…" She sighs and shakes her head. "Really crazy right now." 

"In general, or… between you and Adora?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. "Because I can see shit being crazy from both ends. Y'all said you weren't on the best of terms before, but it doesn't really look like that now," She teases, nudging her gently. 

Catra cracks a small smile. "Yeah, um… Adora and I were basically at each other's throats earlier on in this trip, and now…" She shakes her head. "I don't even know, honestly. I'm still trying to get back everything I lost. I'm still trying to remember how things feel. I think she's falling for me again and I literally can't feel the same, even if I wanted to. Not now at least." 

Lonnie raises an eyebrow. So they were exes... "Do you want to feel the same?" She asks, tilting her head a bit. "I'm…y'know, I'm still not a hundred percent sure on what happened between y'all, but it looks like Adora still really like you."

"I know," Catra agrees. "I know she does. But after all that she did to me, I just don't know if…" She pauses, looking down in thought. "I don't know if I can do it. Even if I find the shard that lets me feel those things, I don't know if I'll still love her, or if I'll be able to fall for her again. She really hurt me, and…" She shuts her eyes tight. "And as much I _ want _ to love her, it doesn't matter, because I just don't know if I can." 

Lonnie thinks for a moment, pursing her lips in thought. "Well," She sighs, looking at Catra. "I think it's something you'll have to figure out later, when you actually _ can _ understand those feelings again," She suggests, smiling a bit. Catra sighs. 

"Yeah," She agrees, voice quiet. "Maybe you're right…" She looks at the cigarette in her hand, then takes another drag. She thinks that… on one hand, Lonnie was right. It was best to wait until she could understand love again. But on the other… even if she could understand, would she be able to really move on from all her bitter feelings? She knows she's gotten better and that things have gotten easier, but could she really take those steps towards romance? 

Could she take those steps towards love again? 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all remember when I said I had an entire chapter written that I ultimately ended up deleting and rewriting? well that was actually a whole chapter abt Kyle's past but I was like "Well he's like. a side character so uhhhhhh maybe he doesn't get a full chapter". anyways I kept a very small part of it and it is now in this chapter! enjoy

The orange glow of the setting sun filled the car as they drove to their next destination. It would take longer to get there; the next shard was up north, near the Great Lakes. Catra wasn't particularly thrilled when she learned where her next shard was. It was colder the further north you went, and she did  _ not _ like the cold. It didn't help that fall was coming to a close and they were heading into winter, when it'd be even  _ colder _ . It left her feeling a bit bitter, honestly, especially when she'd gotten used to the near constant warmth of California.

They'd left Scorpia and Lonnie's place earlier, after spending a couple extra days recuperating. Adora had insisted, since they'd be spending far more time in the car thanks to the shard being so far away. Catra had obliged, figuring some extra time in a comfy place would make up for her prior wrongdoings. She did feel bad, she did, but… she wanted to work towards something better. She wanted to work towards real forgiveness, and something  _ more _ . And these past few days have been good. They hadn't… well, done anything aside from that first time, but things were alright. They were good. Catra couldn't help but feel a little bit of hope. 

Adora has been fiddling with Catra's phone to keep herself busy, headphones in her ears. They hadn't spoken much the past few hours, but neither of them minded. The silences between them were finally comfortable enough to where it didn't bother them. Adora jumps a bit in surprise when Catra's phone starts ringing, the ring tone coming through the headphones. She quickly takes them out, looking at the caller ID. "Oh, uh, Catra." She shows her the phone, which Catra spares

a quick glance at. "It's Kyle," She says, looking a bit nervous. She hadn't spoken to Kyle since… She shakes her head a bit to herself.

Catra takes her phone, putting it on speaker and picking up, handing it back to Adora for her to hold while she drove. "Hey, Kyle," She greets, and Kyle ignores her greeting. 

"Did you know Adora when to the Heavens?" He demands, sounding bitter and unhappy. Catra is a bit surprised. She looks at Adora for help on a response, and Adora just shrugs, frowning.

"Uh. Yeah, I did, why?" She asks, confused. "She… kind of lives there? She's allowed there?" 

Kyle sighs impatiently. "You  _ know _ what I  _ meant _ , Catra," He mutters, and Catra is honestly surprised by his tone. He's never spoken to her like this…

She sighs. "Yeah, I knew about it. Why?" She repeats, and Kyle huffs. 

"The Elders aren't happy she withheld information from them and they're taking it out on me for not keeping a better eye on you two. At this rate  _ I'm _ gonna be cast out." He sounds upset, more upset than Catra has heard before. 

"Kyle," Adora says, and Kyle immediately goes quiet upon hearing her voice. He doesn't respond at all, and for a moment they think he's hung up. She decides to just keep speaking. "Kyle, I'm sorry," She tells him. "I should've had Catra let you know."

They all sit in silence for a moment before Kyle sighs. "I don't care what you have to say," He tells her. "But," He laughs. "It's good to know  _ you _ screwed me over  _ again _ ," He says, tone bitter yet amused. Adora winces to herself, already feeling guilty for it. Catra frowns, not saying anything. "Anyways," Kyle continues with a sigh. "I need to go deal with this. The Elders are, uh, asking me to go to the Heavens to chat with them. When you came down here, my job was to keep an eye on you, just like I had to do with Catra. And, well, you guys just kinda left, so, um… My boss reported me for not going with you, since my job is to help Catra, so…" He heaves a stressed, frustrated sounding sigh. "I was already in trouble for that. And thanks to what Adora did, I'm in even  _ more  _ trouble. I gotta go." 

"Kyle. Hey, Kyle, hold on a sec-" Catra tries to stop him, but he hangs up, ignoring her. Catra looks at her phone, then at Adora. She sighs and hands her the phone. "You shouldn't have gone to talk to Shadow Weaver," She says quietly. "At least not without telling the Elders. You of all people know how they are." 

"I know, I- I don't know what I was thinking." Adora sinks into the seat a bit, guilt starting to settle in her chest. "I hope he's okay." 

Catra says nothing. Then, she sighs, shaking her head. "He hasn't been back to the Heavens in years. I don't know what they're gonna do to him." Adora glances at her, then begins playing with her hands. 

"Maybe I should go and stand up for him. This is all my fault anyways," She mumbles, and Catra sighs quietly. 

"Do you really think that's the best idea?" Catra asks her, shaking her head a bit. "You really messed him up, Adora, and I don't think he wants your help." 

"But Catra-" Adora sits up, frowning. "-If he gets cast out completely, it'll be  _ my _ fault. He doesn't deserve that, he doesn't deserve to be punished for this. If I can stop it, I want to stop it," She insists, her tone serious. She's really not happy with how this situation turned out, not at all. 

Catra doesn't respond for a moment, thinking about what she wants to say. Adora was… kind of right. She had caused this entire situation; She cast Catra out, which assigned Kyle to her. She then took Catra to find her shards, leaving Kyle unable to do his job. And then, to make matters even worse, she went behind both their backs and went to the Heavens to bypass the Elders and talk to Shadow Weaver. It was… all her fault. Catra could tell she honestly wanted to make things better, and that she wanted to fix her mistakes. "Okay," She finally says, nodding slightly.

Adora sighs, relieved. "Okay. I'm… I'm gonna go, okay?" She murmurs, resting a hand on Catra's thigh. Catra gives her a small smile and a nod. Adora leans over and kisses her cheek, then sits back again, whispering to herself under her breath… and she's gone. 

* * *

Adora glances around her house for a moment before she takes a deep breath and hurries out. 

She had to get to the Courthouse. 

She had to get there fast. Who knows what they could be doing to Kyle right now, who knows what they'd be doing? The thought makes her stomach turn as she arrives on the front steps to the huge door that led to the home of all of the Heavens' trials, even those from other Districts; She was born and raised in the main district, so there was a lot here that wasn't anywhere else. She nearly runs up the steps, pushing open the door and heading inside. She walks down the halls of doors, trying to pick up Kyle's aura- and then she finds it. In the biggest room the Courthouse had… the very room Adora had shattered Catra's soul in. This wasn't a good sign. She doesn't even bother knocking, simply opening the door and going inside. 

She comes face to face with an Elder standing in front of Kyle, who knelt before Him, his body rigid and still as he tried to brace himself for whatever would come with the Elder's hand to his forehead. "Oh shit-  _ Stop _ !" Adora shouts, running over to them and grabbing Kyle's arms, yanking him back. He lets out a surprised yelp, struggling to gain his footing as Adora pulls him away. The Elder looks at her, calm yet furious at her disruption. 

"Adora… what is the meaning of this?" The Elder asks, and Adora stares at Him, her breathing picking up pace as she tried to compose herself. 

"You can't do this to him," She tells Him, her voice low and firm. "He doesn't deserve this." 

He sighs. "Young One, you know as well as I do that Kyle serves no purpose. Not here in Etheria, not even on Earth, where he was given an extremely  _ simple _ task. A task he did not carry through like he should've."

Kyle closes his eyes. "Adora, let me go. He's right. There's no use for me," He murmurs. But he doesn't try to get out of her grasp, not even a little bit. He just didn't have the energy to fight, be it for his life or for her to let him go. He honestly doesn't really care what happens to him anymore. He's been useless to the Heavens and the Elders since his birth, and that… 

That would never change.

* * *

_ 8 years ago… _

  
  


_ Kyle definitely felt like the outcast of his class of young First Ones. Everyone else had already had their powers awaken within them, and they'd all started training recently. But here was Kyle, now sixteen, without a power to his name. He'd heard of late bloomers when it came to powers. He knew it could take an extra couple of years, but...but this was a little ridiculous. He'd see his peers working with each other to hone their powers, and he was upset he'd never been able to join in. And Adora… oh, Adora was brilliant. A shining example of what a powerful young First One should be. He was pretty grateful she was amongst his group of young First Ones in training. Surely she could help him.  _

_ He approaches her one afternoon after training, smiling nervously as he comes up to her. She turns around when he clears his throat, and she looks surprised. "Oh. Kyle, hey," She says with a slight, nervous looking smile. "I was… actually about to come looking for you. What's up?"  _

_ He rubs the back of his neck. "Well, um…you know I've been having trouble with my powers. I was wondering if you could… maybe try to help me get them going?" He asks, and Adora looks uneasy, then.  _

_ She starts playing with her hands a bit. "That's the thing, Kyle," She starts, looking away from him. "I was about to find you to tell you that we need to talk… in private." He raises an eyebrow, confused.  _

_ "In private- wait, why?" He asks, and Adora sighs, taking his hand and leading him off to the head First Ones office, trying to be sneaky. It was empty at the moment, but Adora didn't have to worry; she never got in trouble for doing things she wasn't actually supposed to do… like going into the Elders' office without permission. They liked her, a lot. She was certainly very special thanks to her late parents.  _

_ "I found something," She explains as she locks the office door. Kyle watches her as she moves behind the desk in the center of the room, his face starting to warm up a bit. Jeez. Here he was, alone, locked in a room with Adora. He shakes his head a bit to try and clear it. She was with Catra, after all. Nothing to be nervous about.  _

_ "What?" He raises an eyebrow as she starts digging in one of the drawers. "What are you-" She holds up a small file that seemed to only contain a few sheets of paper.  _

_ "Come here." She requests, gesturing for him to come closer to her. Blushing a bit, he walks over, looking over her shoulder at the file she opens. "This is your file." She points to his name and his picture on the first page. "Kyle, did you know you were half human?" She asks, her voice low. Kyle goes still.  _

_ "Half… half human?" He asks, bumping her aside so he can look at the file, his eyes a bit wide. "What the hell-?" His mother certainly had not told him this little fact about his life. Maybe this was why she never mentioned his father…  _

_ Adora bites her lip, watching as he reads. After a moment, she points to a small paragraph near the bottom of the page. "Kyle…read that." _

_ Kyle looks to where she's pointing. He mouths the words to himself as he reads, then he starts speaking. "...'and if his powers have not awoken by the time he is eighteen, then it should be assumed that he will never come into them, and he must leave-' oh my- Adora-" He looks up at her, his eyes wide in fear. "Adora, they're-" He feels panic start to rise in his chest, and Adora carefully takes the file from him, closing it and taking ahold of his shoulders.  _

_ "Calm down," She whispers, smiling a bit. "They wouldn't actually send one of their own to Earth. You're probably just late, you still have some time," She reminds him, gently squeezing his shoulders. Kyle shakes his head. _

_ "No. No, no, I always knew something was wrong with me, I just didn't--I didn't know it was because I was just human!" He puts his face in his hands, and Adora gently pulls him into a hug to try and calm him down a little. She felt bad for him; he was a very dear friend to her, and to think that he could be sent to Earth for something beyond his control…  _

_ "They wouldn't do that," She tries to say again, but it sounds like she believes it a little less than before. That certainly didn't make him feel any better, that's for sure. After a moment of silence, he steps away. _

_ "How did you find this?" He asks, glancing at the file. Adora crosses her arms, looking slightly embarrassed.  _

_ "Catra and I were, um," She takes a breath. "We were trying to find some dirt on Light Spinner because, y'know, she's all mysterious like that, there's no way she's as good as she says--anyways. We came across this-" She taps the file. "And we peeked, and found all this out…"  _

_ "Adora, please," He suddenly pleads, grabbing the file off the desk. "Please, help me try and- help me try and get my powers to start working. I don't wanna be sent to Earth." He looks desperate now, and it honestly makes Adora feel worse for him.  _

_ "Of course, Kyle," She whispers, smiling a bit and stepping towards him. "I-I'm not sure how I can, but… but I'll do what I can to help you."  _

* * *

Present…

  
  


Adora’s grip on Kyle tightens, and she takes a step back when the Elder takes a step towards her. "Don't lay a hand on him," She warns quietly. "He doesn't deserve this."

The Elder stares at her for a long moment before He speaks. "Tell me, Young One, why do you protect this human?" He asks, gesturing to Kyle. "Why are you standing up for him now, of all times?" It goes unspoken, but she knew he wanted to ask why she didn't stand up for him all those years ago like she is now. 

Kyle looks at her, unsure of what to expect when she speaks. "I failed him, back then. I promised I'd help him, and I ended up doing the exact opposite. But I'm gonna make it right, right now. You can't cast him out for  _ my _ mistake," Adora insists, her hand sliding down to take Kyle's hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'm not going to let you do that, and I'll- I'll kill you if I have to." 

Eyes widen in surprise, Kyle stares at her, then glances at the Elder, gripping Adora's hand tight. He's too scared to say anything, so he keeps his mouth shut. The Elder sighs. "Fine, Adora," He says quietly, closing his eyes in frustration. "On one condition."

The two of them look up at the Elder, waiting for his response. 

"Kyle must accompany you for the remainder of your trip. His job is to assist and keep an eye on those who have been cast out, and he has failed to do that. But, if you accept the condition, then we'll forget his punishment." The Elder looks down at them, awaiting their answer. 

Adora looks at Kyle. "Will you come?" She asks quietly, squeezing his hand gently. He takes a shaky breath and nods, glancing at the Elder.

"I'm going with them."

* * *

Catra has to do her damn best not to swerve onto the side of the road when Adora suddenly appears back in the car with a bright burst of light, nearly blinding Catra. Catra takes heavy breaths to calm herself as she gets herself back into order, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "What the hell?" She asks, looking at Adora for a moment.

Adora sighs. "I'm sorry. Um, so, there was…" She frowns, thinking. "The Elder said that to keep Kyle from getting cast out, he had to-"

"Kyle?!" Catra gasps in surprise when she sees Kyle in the rear view mirror, having to focus extra hard so that they didn't swerve again. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Adora glances at him. 

"To keep me from getting cast out, I had to come along and keep an eye on you two," Kyle explains, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's… It's kind of my job anyways, so…" Adora nods to reaffirm. 

"I… couldn't let him get in trouble for my mistake." She glances back at Kyle. "So he's coming along." 

Catra is upset with herself when her mind goes to sleeping with Adora, and how that would be significantly less likely to happen with Kyle around. She shakes her head to herself every so slightly, sighing. No, they couldn't do that anyways… Catra wasn't capable of feeling what Adora wanted her to feel, so it… it just wasn't a good idea right now. It was for the better. "Okay. Okay, fine, great," She mutters, shaking her head again. "We still have three shards to go, does Kyle have clothes or anything with him? He can't just wear that uptight getup for the foreseeable future." 

Kyle shakes his head, lowkey glancing at his work uniform. Dress clothes weren't that uptight, were they? "No, this was, um… last minute to say the least," He murmurs, playing with his hands. "I don't have anything with me." 

Catra sighs. "Well I'm not turning around now, we're basically halfway across the country by now," She tells him, and Adora huffs, reaching back to grab Kyle's hand. In the blink of an eye, they're gone again. Catra groans in frustration and pulls over so she doesn't get as scared when they come back. This was very irritating. Very, very irritating. She just wanted to get this done, quick and easy, but of course not. 

As she waits for them to return, she pulls out her phone, unlocking it. And… she's surprised to see a message from a number she doesn't know. 

_ From: Unknown _

_ Are you Catra? The Sorcerer?  _

Catra stares in shock at the message, sitting up straighter in her seat. She glances around outside, just in case. Upon finding no one, she looks back down at her phone, her hands shaking just a little bit. Nobody on Earth besides other Etherians should know she existed as a Sorcerer. 

_ From: Me _

_ Who's asking? How the hell did you get my number?  _

_ From: Unknown  _

_ You don't know me, but I have the shard you're coming to get. I'll see you soon.  _


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a hot minute since I updated, and I apologize for that. this chapter is actually a little lengthy so maybe that'll make up for it? idk, I also feel like this one was somewhat poorly written, I'm sorry :(
> 
> anyways, y'all ever have to go back to earlier chapters bc you forgot parts of the universe *you* created? bc same. so there might be some discrepancies in information in this chapter bc I got tired of going back and forth I Apologize For That

Catra gasps and drops her phone when, once more, out of nowhere, Adora and Kyle are in her car. She shuts her eyes tight to save herself a bit of pain from the light, then opens them again when she hears Adora sigh. She looks at them, visibly scared. "Guys, I-I just got the weirdest text," She whispers, her eyes wide. Adora raises an eyebrow, looking at her. 

"What do you mean?" She asks, confused. Kyle situates the bag full of his things on the seat next to him, then he leans a bit closer. 

"Who was it from?" He asks, shifting a bit. Catra shrugs, shaking her head as she gestures to her phone, which sat between her and Adora on the center console. 

"I literally have no idea who they are, but they knew my name, my number, the fact I'm a-a fucking _ Sorcerer _, and-and they have my shard!" She snaps, frustrated and confused and angry all rolled into one. Adora is a bit scared of her right now, honestly… but more scared of the fact some unknown creature knows of Catra, and is in possession of a part of her soul. "Nobody on Earth besides other Etherians knows I'm a Sorcerer! I have--I have no idea who else could-" 

"Ah," Kyle interrupts, laughing nervously. "No, hold on, there's only one person I know who could've done something like this," He tells them, making them both go quiet and look at him. 

"What do you mean, _ you know _?" Adora asks, narrowing her eyes at him.

Kyle rubs the back of his neck. "So, we're headed to near the Great Lakes, right?" He asks, and when the other two nod, he nods back. "Well, I don't know if you guys know her, but a pretty powerful First One lives up there," He explains. "Her place is pretty secluded and away from anyone else, so nobody really knows she's there. She came down here to do some more in depth research on human life, and to learn more about First Ones without the Elders stopping her research, a few years ago and just never went back to the Heavens. She visited my office a while back, actually-"

Adora claps her hands excitedly. "Wait- Wait, I know who you're talking about!" Adora gasps, her eyes widening a bit. "I was the one who granted her permission to come down!" 

Catra is absolutely confused right now. "Who are you talking about?" She asks, looking between the two of them. "I-I don't really know anything about-" 

"Her name is Entrapta, and she's--she's just amazing, she knows so much about human and Ethierian technology and First One history and all of our own ancient powers and- oh." She stops. "Maybe she did something to track you." Kyle nods in agreement. 

"Yeah, that's possible," He agrees. "She's smart enough to do it." 

Catra stares at them. "I… I don't understand how that's possible, but, um… right." She turns away, taking hold of the steering wheel again. "I guess we'll find out," She murmurs, turning the key in the ignition. "We have to get back on the road, buckle up." 

* * *

Catra is already shivering by the time they get close to their destination, despite the shitty heater being on in the tiny little motel room they got for the night; they weren't actually sure if it was working or not. The cold seeped right down to her bones from outside as Kyle opened the door, and she _ hated _ it. She's extremely unhappy, and it shows. Kyle smiles a bit as he shrugs off his coat after bringing in the last of their bags, shutting the door with his foot. He tosses it at Catra, who sat huddled on one of the beds.

"Come on, it's really not that cold, Catra," He insists, watching Catra put on his coat with a bitter look on her face. "It's not even winter yet." 

"Close enough to it," She mutters, shoving her hands in her pockets. Adora smirks, sitting down next to her.

"She's just sensitive is all," She says, nudging Catra playfully. Catra scowls. 

"I am not," She grumbles, even though she's already trying to huddle closer to Adora, who puts her arm around Catra's shoulders.

She chuckles, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "You'll be fine," She tells her, squeezing her a bit. Catra feels a bit of warmth come to her cheeks upon feeling Adora's lips on her. Well… that was a new development. Adora had certainly become more comfortable with casual affection… Catra wasn't sure if she was okay with it or not, but her body certainly had a physical reaction to it--and it was a good one. Damnit… 

Catra shrugs slightly, closing her eyes. "Yeah, I guess." She opens her eyes again when Kyle clears his throat a bit, looking a bit awkward. 

"Sorry if, uh, my presence is ruining… whatever that is," He murmurs, gesturing to the two of them. "I can leave." He points at the door. "If you guys needed space..." 

Catra and Adora exchange a look. Catra nudges Adora off of her, then. "There's nothing going on," She assures him with a strained smile. "We're just… getting more comfortable being around each other again."

Adora doesn't exactly look like she agrees when Kyle looks at her, but she doesn't say anything about it, crossing her arms and looking away. He sighs. "Alright." He sits down on the other bed, taking off his shoes. "Do you guys care if I get undressed for bed? I don't mind keeping my clothes on if it bothers you-" 

"I'm a lesbian, Kyle, I couldn't give two shits about whether you're clothed or not," Catra interrupts with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. Adora snorts out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth as Kyle's face goes blank. After a moment, he shrugs and takes off his shirt, setting it in his bag, followed by his pants. Catra narrows her eyes at him. "But honestly--How the hell are you-" She huffs. "How can you do that when it's this cold?" 

He looks up at her as he gets in bed, shrugging slightly. "Um… it's _ really _ not that cold," He tells her, and Adora nods in agreement, smiling a bit. 

"You really are sensitive to the cold…" She observes, her voice quiet. "Don't worry. We've got extra blankets, and coats, and the heater is on and hopefully workingthis time, you should be fine." She shrugs off her jacket and tosses it to the floor, getting up to get her pajamas. She ducks into the bathroom to get changed really quick, then returns just a couple minutes later to find Kyle already totally passed out on his bed, and Catra slumped into the covers in the other bed, visibly displeased with this situation. Adora smirks at Kyle, amused, then gets into bed next to Catra. "Not gonna change?" 

"I'm fine. I'm wearing my sweats anyways, I don't need to change." She gets further into the covers as Adora turns off the light. "They're basically pajamas, so…"

Adora chuckles quietly, turning to face Catra. "Yeah, I guess." She goes quiet then, just kind of looking at Catra, who is trying to relax enough to try to sleep. Eventually, Catra turns to face Adora. She looks into her eyes, but doesn't say anything. Adora looks back at her, able to tell she wants to say something, but she senses her hesitation. "What..?" She asks quietly, a little confused. 

Catra sighs and shakes her head just a little. "...I was just thinking about…about how, when I get my next shard, I…" Her voice trails off as she loses confidence in her words. Adora's brow furrows. 

"What is it?" She asks, and Catra heaves another sigh. She closes her eyes, biting her lip for a moment.

"I just… when I get this next shard, I want to be able to love you again. Or, at least be on the right path to loving you," She whispers, opening her eyes to look at Adora again. "I want this next shard to let me love again. 'Cause I know you love me. And… I've been able to do a lot of thinking on this trip, and at this point…" She takes a deep breath. "I know I want to try and love you back again " 

Adora can't say she isn't surprised, because she really is. She hadn't expected this at all. She can't help the smile that comes to her lips. "Really?" She asks quietly, and Catra nods slightly. 

"Yeah, really," She affirms with another nod. "After everything… after seeing you try so hard to make things better- better with me, and with Kyle, I just-" She closes her eyes, taking a break. "...you've changed, Adora, and in a good way." She looks at her, not really explaining any further. "I've got _ my _ Adora back." She reaches up and rests a cold hand on Adora's warm cheek. 

And it gets even warmer as Adora smiles a bit wider. "Catra…" She whispers her name before inching closer. "I love you." Catra doesn't respond for a moment, stroking Adora's cheek with her thumb. Now, she's not really surprised by the confession at all. She expected this. She _ wanted _this. 

"I know," She murmurs, pressing a kiss to Adora's forehead. "I know."

* * *

"Huh, I've never seen a part of Earth that looks like this," Kyle murmurs as he looks out the backseat window at the thick forest that surrounds the road as they drove closer to their destination.

Catra glances at him through the rear view mirror. "Did you never leave California?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

Kyle nods slightly, sitting back in his seat. "There wasn't a reason for me to leave, really," He responds with a quiet sigh. "So I didn't."

"Well, wait." Adora turns around and looks at him. "Didn't you have other cases? Other people to guide all over the place?" She asks, confused. 

Kyle takes a breath, glancing away. "No, actually. Catra's my first real case. I've spent all my time shadowing other caseworkers in preparation of my first case. I know how everything works really well because I've been down here so long, of course, but I've never been assigned to work alone until now," He explains, shrugging. 

Catra chuckles, surprised. "Wow. I thought you'd been doing this a while, honestly," She murmurs, and Kyle shakes his head, smiling a bit. 

"Nope. You're my first." He looks out the window again. "I'm pretty glad it was someone who had some semblance of a good person, even without their soul. The caseworkers I shadowed had all been assigned people who hurt others or something like it… it was dark and never really felt right helping them, but you're different Catra. You're good." 

Catra has to pretend like that doesn't make her feel… well, _ good _. She cracks a smile. "I almost helped destroy the Heavens, Kyle," She tells him, heaving a sigh. "If I hadn't gotten caught, Shadow Weaver would have the Sword, it would've changed the Heavens as we knew it. I… I deserve to be down here." 

"No," Adora shakes her head. "You don't. You already know that none of that was your fault. You know none of that was really you. She brainwashed you and took control of you," Adora reminds her, her voice soft yet firm at the same time. 

Kyle smiles at her through the rear view mirror. "You can't help that that happened. She's put away now and can't do anything to anyone anymore. We all know it wasn't your fault." He reaches over and pats her shoulder. "It's okay." 

Catra doesn't say anything for a moment, just kind of thinking about everything. She knows they're both right, but… she felt weak and ashamed that she hadn't fought Shadow Weaver off harder than she had. She was ashamed that she fell so easily into her mind control and dark magic. She shakes her head slightly. "Yeah, I know," She settles on saying, her voice quiet. Adora and Kyle go quiet then, and Catra takes a quick glance at her phone's GPS on the dashboard, then tries to feel out for her shard. "Mm. We're getting close," She murmurs after catching just a little sense of it. Adora nods in agreement.

"Yeah, we're almost there." She turns around and looks at Kyle, then sits back and looks at Catra. "Okay guys, listen. I don't know what Entrapta might want with Catra's shard, if anything at all, so just be prepared for whatever happens," She tells them, and they both nod. Catra shifts in her seat, uneasy. 

"I hope she doesn't try to keep it. I kinda need that," She says with a quiet chuckle. "I wanna go home already…" She turns onto a dirt road surrounded by thick trees and foliage off the side of the main road, one she wouldn't have seen had it not been on the GPS' map. It's a legitimate road, one that leads right to Entrapta's house. It must've been hidden to keep people from coming… 

They all look around a bit before they all spot the house tucked away in the trees, surrounded by plants. It almost looked abandoned, and they all would've thought it was if a young woman wasn't sitting in the porch with a drink in one of her hands… and Catra's shard in the other. Catra huffs and parks the car, quickly getting out. The woman, who Catra assumed was Entrapta, smiles at her as she walks up to her. "Hey there," She says cheerfully. "Catra, right?" 

Catra nods, then holds out her hand. She wanted to cut right to the chase and get this over with. "Can I have my shard, please?" She asks quietly, trying to sound extra polite. Entrapta looks just a little surprised, and with a quiet chuckle she gently places the shard in Catra's open hand. She watches as Catra lets the shard absorb into her pendant, sighing in relief. 

"Thank you so much," She murmurs, enjoying the warmth of having yet another piece of her back. Entrapta nods, glancing at Adora and Kyle as they get out of the car and walk over. 

"You brought friends," She says, standing up as a smile comes to her face. "Adora! It's so good to see you, I've had a fantastic time here on Earth!" She runs up to Adora. "I've learned so much about the humans and how life here works and-" 

Adora laughs, shushing Entrapta. "I know, I know," She says, smiling. "It's good to see you too. I take it you've been well?" She asks, tilting her head to the side in question.

Entrapta nods quickly. "Of course! I love it down here--Hey, why don't you guys come inside, it's gonna get cold soon." Before Entrapta can really finish her sentence, Catra is walking towards the door. She wants to get out of the outside before she had to endure anymore cold. Entrapta leads them all inside, and they're all shocked to see that her house is… a bit of a mess. There's piles of books and loose pieces of paper scattered around the living room, and there's a huge computer on a desk pushed up against the far wall, out of the way of everything. "Sorry it's such a mess, I don't get visitors." She half heartedly starts picking things up and stacking books a bit neater, but it's clear she has no interest in actually cleaning. 

Kyle shrugs as they all watch her try and clean. "It's fine, we don't really care much," He tells her, and Entrapta immediately drops the books she held in her hands back onto the floor.

"Cool, that's cool." She puts her hands on her hips. "Are you guys planning on staying tonight? I don't mind if you do." All three of them nod. 

"That'd be great, actually," Catra says with a smile. She had hope that Entrapta had a _ working _heater, unlike the motel the other night. 

She hums and nods. Her eyes roll up to the ceiling in thought as she taps her chin. "I _ do _ have a guest room, despite not having guests, and I suppose one of you can sleep on the couch." She looks back at them. "Sound good?" They all nod. "Great. Let's get you all settled in, and I'll make us dinner!" 

Entrapta shows them up to the guest room after they grab their bags from the car, and Adora and Catra put them down. "So, we can have the room, right Kyle?" Catra asks, raising an eyebrow. Kyle's huffs quietly. 

"Yeah, it's fine," He says, waving his hand a bit. "You guys can have some privacy." He's definitely felt like an inconvenience lately, getting in the way of Adora and Catra's budding relationship. It makes him a little sad, but he says nothing about it. 

Catra smirks at Adora, who rolls her eyes with a smile. "Cool, thanks," Catra says to Kyle with a pat on his back. Entrapta doesn't seem to know what's going on, so she doesn't comment on the vague awkwardness of the conversation. 

"All set?" She asks, and after they nod, she leads them back to living room. "Wait here, I'll make us some food. Then we can talk about your shard, Catra, because I'm sure you have questions," She says with a coy smile. Catra looks surprised, but she can't say anything before Entrapta hurries away. 

Catra glances at Adora. "Does she mean, like, about the tracking?" She asks, and Kyle nods for her. 

"Yeah, that's probably what she meant," He answers. Catra sighs and runs a hand through her hair, closing her eyes. She'd never really thought finding her shards would be _ so _ difficult and inconvenient. She's had to jump through hoops to get them, and it was incredibly annoying and frustrating. 

It doesn't take much time for Entrapta to gesture for them to come into the kitchen. "Okay, go ahead and take a seat." She turns to pick up the tray of food she's prepared. Everyone liked sandwiches, right? Easy to make, could totally be a meal. Once everyone is seated she turns back around, presenting the tray to them. "Dinner is served!"

They all eye the tray, and the most obvious thing about the sandwiches presented to them is how… small they are. Adora raises an eyebrow. "Those are kinda small," She comments, and Entrapta nods, setting the tray on the table. 

"I know! Aren't they just adorable?" She asks with a grin. "Go ahead, help yourself." She sits down in the empty chair as the trio exchange confused looks before deciding to eat. They eat quietly for a moment or two before Catra heaves a sigh. 

"So… about my soul shard," She starts, looking at Entrapta. Entrapta nods quickly, setting her food down and folding her hands on top of the table. 

"Right, right, of course. Okay, so." She looks back at Catra. "Part of what I research is the First Ones ancient powers that we haven't tapped into or used for at least a millenia. Some have assumed that we just lost the ability to perform certain things, but we _ haven't _. These powers have just lied dormant within us, because no one has taught us to use them for generations. Well, besides me, anyways. I found ancient scripture while raiding the library in the main district-" She shakes her head. "Anyways, one thing we used to be able to do is not only see soul shards--or souls in general--but see who it belongs to as well. Now, you know that First Ones can't really do that unless they're specifically tuned into the person's energy, but not with this."

Catra is dumbfounded. "I-I don't understand," She murmurs, looking at her, her eyes a bit wide. Adora rests a hand on her thigh under the table, hoping to keep her a little more calm… And Catra is surprised when her heart leaps at Adora's touch. She takes a shaky breath; That wasn't the topic at hand right now, it was something to worry about later.

Entrapta crosses her arms, thinking to herself. Then, she stands up and hurries out of the room. Kyle stands up, watching her run down the hall. "What the- what is she doing?" He whispers, and Adora shrugs slightly. 

"I don't know," She responds, just as confused as the others. But she's a little more upset at the fact she didn't know anything about this. After all the reading and studying she's done over the years to become as knowledgeable as she could be about her people, she somehow missed this piece of pretty important information. She blinks a bit when Entrapta walks back in, her hand clenched into a fist. 

All three of them see the dull glow around her hand, and they all know it's a soul shard, and they can feel the soul's energy. But that's all they could feel. Entrapta smiles and opens her fist, showing them the shard. "Who does this belong to?" She asks Adora and Kyle, both of whom are unable to tell. For them, it's just a shard. For Catra, she can't tell even if she wanted to. Being a Sorcerer, she couldn't use the same kind of magic and powers that First Ones could. 

Kyle frowns a bit as he tries to tune into this shard's energy, but without knowing who it belongs to, without knowing what their energy feels like, he's completely unable to. Adora shifts uncomfortably, going through about the same thing. "I don't know," Adora murmurs, and Kyle nods in agreement. 

Entrapta hums and nods. "Mhm. See, if you could use this power I've rediscovered, you'd be able to tell me that this shard belongs to _ me _." Adora's jaw drops as Entrapta grins. It's then Adora and Kyle realize that they haven't felt Entrapta's energy, not until now. How had they not noticed that right away? Had she somehow hidden or suppressed her own energy? 

"How did--wait, I don't understand," She whispers, shocked about more things than one. 

"You came down here on your own accord, why would your soul be shattered?" He asks, absolutely baffled. "As far as I know, you haven't done anything wrong." 

Entrapta chuckles. "With all the research I've been doing on ancient powers, it wasn't that hard to chip off a piece of my own soul."

Catra chokes a bit, horrified. "How could you do that?" She asks, her eyes wide. "I felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside out- how the hell could you do that to yourself?" 

"Simple. It was for research," Entrapta explains with a slight shrug. "I've been trying to study what exactly makes a soul, and I figured I couldn't just use your shard without permission. Or at all. I figured you'd be coming for it."

"So you knew the shard belonged to me, but how did you find my phone number?" Catra asks, her eyes narrowing after the initial shock wears off. 

Entrapta hums. "Well, I traced your name back to the office Kyle worked at back in California, and I was able to get your info and number fairly easy." 

They're all a bit surprised the answer was as simple as it was. They expected something more… elaborate? "That's… hm," Kyle looks down in thought. "Interesting." 

Entrapta nods, smiling. "It's very fun doing things simply for a change." She stands up again. "Alright, have I answered your questions good enough? I wanna get back to work." 

Adora shakes her head. "No, actually, um… If you took a shard of your own soul, how are you so… upbeat? Catra hasn't been able to feel that yet." 

"Everyone gains their emotions back in a different order. I… guess I happened to chip off the shard that allowed my emotions to range towards anger. You don't exactly get to choose which emotion comes back when you gather your shards, and the same goes for the opposite," She explains with a casual wave of her hand. "It's a surprise every time--wait." She sits back down again, staring at Catra and leaning in a bit. "How many shards are you searching for?" She asks, her eyes a bit wide.

Catra leans away, nervous. "Seven. The one you gave me made five," She tells her, and Adora looks down at her hands, which are folded neatly in her lap. She still feels pretty guilty about what she did, and it shows. Entrapta chooses not to say anything about that. 

"That's a lot. Especially for a Sorcerer. it should've split into two, three _ at most _. That's very odd…" She starts thinking to herself, looking away. "Must've been a pretty powerful First One who shattered you…" She gets up. "I'm gonna head back to my lab, help yourself to whatever's out here." And she's out of the room again just like that. 

Adora starts shaking a little bit, trying not to let the guilt consume her. Despite being close to finding them all, she still felt horrible. Honestly, she thinks she might _ always _ feel horrible about it… Catra turns and looks at her, then wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Hey. Hey, don't feel bad. We're almost done, just two more to go, and then we can go home…" Compassion. That's something she hasn't felt in a long, long time. Especially towards Adora. 

Adora sighs and nods slightly, looking at Catra. "Yeah. You're right." She rests her head on her shoulder. "We're almost done."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, long time no see!!!!! I just want to apologize again for taking so long, and I also want to thank you all for your kind messages <3
> 
> i rlly hope this chapter (which I wrote a little longer) makes up for being afk for so long sksjskdj
> 
> I also hope there's not too many typos or short sections or anything lmaoooo I was slightly rushing....... anyways 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy, thank you so much for being patient w me <33333

Adora rests her head on the car windowsill, letting the wind hit her face and mess up her hair, enjoying the cold early evening air. She could smell the ocean, hear the waves, and see the setting sun illuminate the sky orange and pink just behind the water, and it was something she'd never experienced until now. She decides that she likes it very much, never knowing something could be so soothing. "Was this what California was like?" She asks quietly, not directing it at anyone in particular considering both Kyle and Catra lived there. 

"Yeah, pretty much. It's gorgeous, I'll definitely never get tired of it," Kyle answers, looking out the window. "It kinda makes me miss home."

"I feel you there," Catra agrees, smiling at him through the rear view mirror. She'd considered it home for the past year, and she'd gotten kind of attached, honestly. If she's being even  _ more _ honest, she'll miss it when she's finally able to return to the Heavens. Maybe she'd visit Kyle every now and then… 

Before leaving, Entrapta gave Adora and Kyle a couple old scriptures to help them learn more about their ancient powers. Kyle didn't really care, since he's never been able to use most of his powers anyways, but Adora is extremely interested and is happy to take them. She read through them all in the car while they drove to the next destination, a small seaside town on the East Coast. Adora was eager to try and mess around with her powers, but there were more important matters at hand, so it would have to wait. Right now, she's more focused on making sure Catra gets her remaining shards. They only had two left, there was no slowing down now. 

According to Kyle, after feeling out for Catra's shard with Adora's help, the energy was much stronger than the previous shards. It confused him, but he guessed that this shard just happened to bigger than the last ones. At least… well, to him it made sense. Catra's guess--and her hope as well--was that, maybe, her last two shards were together, and they could wrap up the trip and go home sooner than they thought. She doesn't voice this because it's pretty farfetched, but… she could only hope. 

"This is a cute little place," Catra observes as they get closer to town, seeing various signs about the town's amenities; Apparently, it happened to be a big tourist town because of its location and amazing seaside views. There was also a small island a little ways from the coast, where a lighthouse stood tall. It was decommissioned long ago, but it was still an interesting tourist spot due to its history and architecture.

Kyle nods in agreement. "We're definitely gonna get a room with a good view in our hotel, it's gorgeous here." He glances around as they drive through town in search of a hotel. A flashy sign by a small pier catches his eye, and he's lucky they hit a stoplight so he can read it.

_ Boat tours run daily, twice a day! Take a ride along the beautiful coast of our equally beautiful town and learn more about our rich history!  _

_ -Purchase tickets at the booth on the pier. _

_ Tours run by the one and only Seahawk.  _

Kyle raises an eyebrow. What kind of name was that? Even so, he had to admit he was interested. As they start driving again, he leans up to Catra and Adora. "Can we take that boat tour?" He asks, looking between them. "It sounds interesting." 

Adora looks back at him. "What tour?" She asks, and Catra gestures behind her.

"Back there, there was a sign advertising a tour along the coast," She explains. "And… I guess we could take a little break just for fun, we haven't actually done that since we started this trip." She smiles a little at him through the rear view mirror, and Kyle smiles back, patting her shoulder. He noticed how much better she was feeling now that she could, you know,  _ feel _ almost everything she'd lost before. He was glad; It was nice to see her smile for real, rather than her usual forced ones that were only out of courtesy.

Adora raises an eyebrow, a bit confused by her willingness to break just for leisure when she's been trying to rush since this trip even started. Regardless, she doesn't say anything, opting to just smile and nod. Kyle begins chattering about the town and the sights, but Adora is quickly distracted when she gets a strong, sudden pull towards the Heavens. She winches a bit; Someone must be trying to summon her… "I have to go," She murmurs to the two of them, and they both look at her in confusion. She doesn't wait for a response from either of them before she shuts her eyes tight and sends herself home. 

* * *

Glimmer's presence greets her when she ascends back to the Heavens. She blinks a bit, confused as she takes in her surroundings; She's in the Heavens' Precinct, right outside of the interrogation room...why was she summoned here? "Glimmer? What is it, what's wrong?" She asks, looking Glimmer over. The young woman seems nice and composed, like usual; Her expression is a bit more stern and stonelike, but… 

Glimmer sighs quietly. "Shadow Weaver asked to speak with you again," She explains, rubbing her arm nervously. "She didn't tell us why, but…" She looks at her. "I figured I should call you anyways." 

Adora glances at the door to the interrogation room, then sighs a little. "Right," She says quietly. "I don't know what else there is to discuss, but…" Glimmer shrugs again. 

"Just let me know if you need any backup," She tells her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right out here." 

Adora offers her a small smile and a nod before heading into the room, closing the door behind her as she steps inside. Shadow Weaver is sitting at the table in the center of the room, hands folded, her eyes down. She doesn't look up when Adora walks in, but she sighs in acknowledgment. "What do you want?" Adora asks as she walks over, sitting down in front of her. 

"My power is beginning to fade," Shadow Weaver murmurs, her voice quiet. She closes her eyes. "It began before I was arrested, but now-" 

"Why should I care?" Adora demands in interruption, narrowing her eyes at the woman across from her. "Because I don't." 

Shadow Weaver heaves another sigh. "You should care, because your people's lives are at stake," She mutters, looking at her. "And I can't do anything as the High Sorcerer of this district without it."

Adora blinks a bit, surprised. "What do you mean our lives are at stake?" She asks, leaning a bit closer. Shadow Weaver sighs, shaking her head a bit. 

"The First One I was working with… the corrupt one…" She looks at Adora. "His name is Hordak, and he's coming back." 

Adora goes still. "Coming back?" She honestly didn't even know of this First One's existence until only recently, so she doesn't know anything about him to begin with. 

"He was cast out many, many years ago, and has finally found all his shards-" 

"But-But weren't you getting your magic from him?" Adora interrupts, confused. Shadow Weaver folds her hands, looking away.

"I was able to conduct a spell that allowed him to sneak back into the Heavens to assist me," She explains. "And he was cast out before the deadline rule was implemented, so it doesn't apply to him to begin with. Now that he's got his shards, he's able to freely come and go, and… he swore to destroy the Heavens when he returned." 

Adora scoffs. "Isn't that what  _ you _ wanted to do anyways?" She sneers, and Shadow Weaver shakes her head.

"No. I merely wanted power for me and my people. But he… wants to rid the Heavens of its existence thanks to the Elders casting him out. He was one of the first extremely powerful First Ones to exist, and he's only been honing his powers since," Shadow Weaver murmurs. "He's too powerful."

"Why the hell are you- what are you doing this for? Why are you telling me this?" Adora demands, leaning a bit closer. "You won't get anything out of this. You aren't going to be let off the hook." 

"I never expected to be," Shadow Weaver says simply, shaking her head. "But I have nothing to lose. I have nothing to gain. There's no reward in letting the Heavens be destroyed." She sighs. "Catra… she needs to get ahold of the Sword." 

Adora is surprised. What? "What does she need the sword for? And-And why her?" Shadow Weaver eyes her. 

"She's one of the most powerful Sorcerers I know, Adora, I haven't seen power like hers in centuries. And, with the Sword in her hands, with all that power coursing through her… She'd be just as unstoppable as any Elder or High Sorcerer," Shadow Weaver explains casually. "I might've tapped into her powers before, but that was exactly why. She's brilliant." 

Adora's hands clench into fists. "How much time do we have?" She asks, her voice low and firm. "How long until he's here?" Her mind was starting to race; She had to warn the King and Queen, she had to rush and gather the rest of Catra's shards, she had to acquire the Sword and get past the Elders-

"I can't answer that exactly, thanks to my powers fading," Shadow Weaver tells her, shrugging slightly. "But it's soon; It could be any moment now."

Glancing at the door, Adora sighs shakily. "I have to go. I have to- I have to deal with this." She gets up and steps away from the table. Shadow Weaver watches her. 

"Good luck to you both," She says as Adora opens the door. Adora doesn't respond, simply shaking her head and closing the door behind her. 

Adora heads right to where Glimmer is waiting by the exit. "Glimmer, we need to talk to your parents.  _ Now _ ," She mutters, and Glimmer raises an eyebrow. 

"What? Why?" She asks, confused. Adora swallows nervously, feeling her chest flutter with anxiety.

"I'll explain in a sec. Just- We just need to talk to your parents," She tells her again, and Glimmer nods uneasily. They head to the palace, and right to the King and Queen's office, ignoring all the guards trying to stop them. Glimmer pushes open the door without knocking, sensing Adora's urgency. 

They both look up, surprised by the intrusion. "Glimmer, Adora." Angella eyebrows raise in surprise. "What's the meaning of this?" She asks, and Micah's brow furrows in worry.

"You look troubled," He observes, and Adora bows quickly, nodding. 

"I have something urgent I need to tell you," She explains, and the King and Queen exchange a look before looking at Adora. 

"Go ahead," Angella permits, nodding at Adora. 

Adora nods slightly. "Shadow Weaver's just informed me that an evil, extremely powerful First One is making his way back into the Heavens. And… his goal is to  _ destroy _ the Heavens," She announces, her hands trembling as she folds them behind her back. 

Micah inhales sharply, knowing exactly who she's talking about almost immediately. He'd been a notoriously evil presence years and years ago. "Ah," He breathes, looking at his wife, who looks equally as shocked. "We know who you're talking about. Even we couldn't do anything, except cast him out," He tells them, looking very uneasy. Angella stands up, clearing her throat. 

"We'll take the proper precautions for his arrival. We'll make sure to-" 

Angella is cut off when Adora speaks. "I know who can stop him, though," She tells them, her voice just a little shaky. Glimmer raises an eyebrow, confused, but doesn't say anything. 

"Who?" Micah and Angella ask. Adora takes a breath. 

"Catra."

* * *

Kyle leans over the railing and looks out over the ocean as the exuberant, overly excited and cheerful tour guide, apparently named Seahawk, talks about the small, coastal town. Catra stands next to him, enjoying the sea breeze. Adora was taking so long that the two of them decided to go off on their own. Neither of them knew what was up, but they figured it was important and decided to leave it alone. Kyle shifts a bit as the boat sails a bit closer to the giant lighthouse it was heading towards. 

"Do you feel it getting closer?" He asks quietly, and Catra nods slightly. 

"I think it's over there," She murmurs back, looking the lighthouse over. Kyle turns to look at it with her, and they both eye a small, glowing spot near the very top, on the small balcony up there. 

"Yeah," Kyle agrees. He then glances over at Seahawk, who has started looking at the two of them every now and then, seemingly suspicious of them. Much to their surprise--and their confusion--Seahawk waves his hand artfully as if he's enunciating a point of interest to the tourists gathered around him, and a Sorcerer's Circle forms where his hand is positioned in the air. Catra has to suppress the gasp that wants to escape, and Kyle goes stiff, his eyes wide. "What is-?"

"A telepathy spell," Catra whispers, recognizing the symbols from her own spell knowledge. "He's-" How the hell have they come across  _ another  _ Etherian?! She bites her lip when Seahawk pushes the circle towards the two of them. 

"Ah, looking for that Soul Shard I see," Seahawk tells them through the telepathic link now formed between them. He's talking to the tourists as if nothing is going on, and the two are surprised by his ability to hold two separate conversations like this. 

"We are," Catra confirms, looking back out at the lighthouse. "Can you take us there?" 

"I could. It'll cost you, though," He tells them, and Kyle grimaces.

"Wasn't paying for the tour enough?" Kyle mutters to Catra, and Seahawk, as if on cue, laughs. 

"Of course not!" He says loudly. It's a response to an entirely different person, and yet, it seemed like it was directed towards them as well. He then announces that everyone can just enjoy the rest of the boat ride, then dismisses himself. He walks over to Kyle and Catra, grinning. "Good afternoon," He greets them quietly. 

Catra stares at him. "What do you want?" She asks him, not even concerned with what he's doing on Earth at the moment. Seahawk hums, eyes rolling up towards the sky in thought. 

"Well, if you'd like to get to the lighthouse, it'll take extra payment--so  _ no _ , paying for the tour was  _ not _ enough," Seahawk explains cheerfully. "So, will you be taking me up on my offer? I assume you'd like to get home A-S-A-P."

Kyle huffs. "Yes, we will," He murmurs, crossing his arms. "How the hell were you able to tell we were Etherians?" He asks, his voice near inaudible. 

"Well," Seahawk begins, folding his hands. "I felt Etherian energy from someone on the boat when the tour began, and I just felt around until I confirmed who it was coming from--aka, you two. If you can believe it, I've actually gotten several Etherians coming to our little town looking for them. Shards seem to pull towards Etherian energy regardless of First One or Sorcerer specific energy. And, again, if you'd believe it we're a hotspot for Etherian energy. The lighthouse seems to be a big conductor of it, it always has, so we've gotten Shards several times."

Catra shakes her head slightly, several different questions floating through her mind. "Who is ' _ we _ '?" She asks first, confused, and Seahawk smiles.

"My wife and I," He tells them, beaming with pride. "She's a wonderful woman, you know, a very talented First One." He stands up straighter, then pulls a business card out of his pocket. "Anyways, if you'd like a ride to the lighthouse, come to this address around ten tonight. And bring some extra cash," He tells them after leaning a bit closer to them. "Understand?" 

Kyle and Catra both nod, and Kyle takes the card from him, looking it over before looking back at him. This man was odd, but… he seemed to be telling the truth about this. Catra and Kyle have plenty of questions for him, but those could all be asked later. 

Seahawk smiles. "See you then," He murmurs before turning and walking away from them, whistling a jaunty tune to himself. 

Kyle and Catra exchange another look before gasping at a bright flash of light only they seem to see hitting the shore nearby. "Adora," Catra whispers, leaning over the railing and looking towards her. Adora waves her arms frantically, trying to get their attention. "What the hell-?" 

"What is she doing?" Kyle asks, confused as he looks at her. 

"Trying to get our attention, obviously… We need to get back." She glances over at Seahawk, who is talking cheerfully to the tourists again. It was clear the tour was far from over right now. Catra huffs quietly to herself, wishing she could cast a spell, teleport,  _ anything _ ; Adora clearly needed them, and she was becoming more frantic about that, starting to call out to them, turning attention to her presence on the beach. 

Kyle bites his lip, then grabs Catra's hand tight. "Sorry if this doesn't work," He whispers before tugging her close and shutting his eyes tight, doing his best to teleport them to Adora. He didn't have many powers at all, so he could only teleport short distances and perform small, measly little things like reading soul energies and tuning into them. But… that was about all. And it was worth a shot, wasn't it? 

Catra whimpers when Kyle hugs her close, garnering the attention of a few tourists nearby. "Kyle, what the hell-" She's cut off when Seahawk exclaims loudly to turn the attention away from them, having noticed what they were trying to do. And, before she realizes it, they're off the boat. She quickly comes to her senses when both she and Kyle fall into the ocean, hundreds of feet away from the shore. "Fuck-!" She chokes out, swiping her now soaked hair out of her face. "Kyle, what the  _ fuck _ ?!" She gasps, and Kyle hits the water, groaning in frustration. 

"Damn it, I can't even-" He starts swimming towards the shore. "-can't even teleport right." Catra rolls her eyes and starts following him, shivering a bit. The water was fucking freezing, if Catra was being honest, and she wanted to get out of it  _ now _ . 

"Whatever, at least--at least we're off the boat," She mutters over the sound of the waves around them. Kyle shakes his head.

"I could've gotten us closer," He murmurs, more to himself. Catra sighs. 

"It's fine, Kyle, just forget it," She insists, and Kyle says nothing more as they swim closer to the beach. Adora walks over to them, bewildered.

"What the hell was that?" She asks, and Catra huffs as she gets out of the water, helping Kyle to his feet. 

"We saw you, and he… he tried to teleport us here," She explains, and Kyle nods. 

"It almost worked," He mumbles. Adora sighs, running a hand through her hair. She didn't have time to deal with that. 

"Right. Okay. Um, anyways, we need to get to the hotel, because I have something really important to tell you guys."

* * *

Catra rubs Kyle's still-soaked head with a towel in an attempt to dry him off as they get situated in their new hotel room. They've both taken showers now to get the ocean water out of their hair, and Adora has been impatiently waiting to tell them the news. As Catra fusses over Kyle, Adora finally starts talking, spilling everything Shadow Weaver had told her. Catra immediately goes still when Adora tells her that Shadow Weaver suggested  _ she  _ be the one to take Hordak down. She drops the towel on Kyle's head and steps away from him, towards Adora. 

"She's lying," Catra whispers, smirking sadly. "You know that, right?" She asks. Adora crosses her arms, and Kyle pulls the towel off his head, huffing.

"Yeah, how can you be so sure she's telling the truth?" Kyle adds, rubbing his hair a bit. Catra puts her hands on her hips. 

"I don't believe it for a second. I don't believe  _ any _ of it," She mutters, starting to pace around the room a bit. "After everything she's done, there's no way I can just believe this so easily."

Adora sighs. "It backs up what Scorpia and Lonnie told us, doesn't it?" She points out, frowning. "It adds up, it makes sense-" 

"But it  _ doesn't _ ! There is no spell to sneak people in and out of the Heavens as far as I know, the Deadline Rule was implemented centuries ago, and-" 

"The King and Queen knew exactly who I was talking about. The Heavens are on lock down," Adora interrupts, her voice low and firm. Kyle and Catra both go still and quiet, looking at Adora with wide eyes. 

Catra slowly sits down on the bed next to Kyle, her arms going around to hug herself as she thinks, and thinks… "So this is really on me then?" She finally asks quietly, looking down at the floor. "Getting rid of this guy is my job?" 

Adora just shrugs slightly. "Shadow Weaver said you were one of the most powerful Sorcerers she'd ever seen. She said if you had the sword, you'd be able to channel that power and defeat him." 

Kyle looks at Catra, and upon seeing how she suddenly looks distraught, he wraps an arm around her shoulders. "It'll be okay. If…if all of this is real, then I think you can do it." Catra looks up at Kyle, a bit surprised. "I haven't seen firsthand what you can do, but… you're strong. I know that for sure. So I don't have any doubts that you can do this." 

Adora kneels in front of Catra, resting her hands on Catra's knees, and Kyle scoots away a bit to give them a little space. "And I'll be right there to help you. I'm not letting you do this alone," She whispers. "I know I've left you before, but I swear, I'm not ever going anywhere again." 

For a moment, as she looks down at Adora who has such a strong look of sincerity, she thinks she might feel a flicker of love in her heart, a flicker of the feeling she's wanted to feel so bad. But it's gone as quickly as it appears, much to her dismay, and it actually. makes her tear up. Adora has shown her so much love and compassion and regret that Catra is angry she's unable to love her. Adora reaches up and cups her face in her hands, gently wiping away her tears with her thumbs. 

"It's okay, Catra," She whispers, smiling a little bit. "It's okay."

Catra can only nod in response as she sniffles, and she melts when Adora leans in and kisses her, a soft, reassuring kiss that warms Catra's heart. "Thank you," Catra murmurs as she pulls away, looking into Adora's eyes. Adora nods, giving her another kiss before she stands up. 

"So," She clears her throat a bit as Catra wipes her eyes and Kyle looks away awkwardly. "We should discuss this--this Seahawk thing. We don't have much time to get the rest of the shards. Glimmer said she'd call me to the Heavens when he arrived." 

Kyle looks up then, nodding quickly. "We have the address to go to to get Catra's shard," He tells her, getting up to dig around his soaked jeans' pocket to find the business card. He hopes it didn't get ruined by the water when they fell in… He finds it and pulls it out, relieved to see it's intact. He holds it up. "He just said to go here tonight if we wanted to get it."

Adora takes it from him, then nods. "Then we will." 

So they do, feeling only slightly uneasy about meeting with this Sorcerer they'd never met before. The address they were given isn't to the docks, but to a building on a quiet backstreet of the town, one that seemed kind of abandoned. Upon walking up to the building, they're met with a young Sorcerer who almost seemed to be guarding the building… and he wasn't doing a great job, because it was very clear he wasn't sure how to be tough and assertive about anything. It honestly makes Catra want to laugh. 

"Hey. Are you guys the ones who came looking for a shard?" He asks, gearing up to use his powers on them if he has to--and to make him look a little scarier. "'Cause if you're not, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," He warns. 

Catra crosses her arms. "Yeah, we are, chill out. We're here for Seahawk," She explains, and the Sorcerer nods slightly, visibly relaxing a little. 

"He's in here," He gestures to the door, but says nothing else. The trio stands and stares in confusion, an awkward air suddenly filling the space between them and the Sorcerer, who shifts awkwardly as he glances at the door. "Uh, you can go in?" He tells them as he gestures to the door again, his tone confused. 

The three of them all sigh and walk inside, their heads down in embarrassment. The Sorcerer follows behind them, closing and locking the door behind him. He directs them up a set of stairs, then down a hallway. The building was honestly rather well kept, despite its slightly abandoned looking appearance. "What is this place?" Kyle asks quietly, looking around. 

"Seahawk's office building. He owns a lot of the attractions and tourist stuff here, and this is where he does his business. The front of the building looks much nicer than this, since this is actually the back," The Sorcerer explains with a little shrug. 

Kyle nods slightly, looking over at him, kind of eyeing him for a moment. Huh. He was pretty cute… Catra elbows him, shaking her head ever so slightly, silently telling him to stop that. He just rolls his eyes a bit, crossing his arms. They don't speak any more until the Sorcerer stops them in front of a door, then knocks a few times. A moment later, the door is opened by an annoyed looking young woman. The trio immediately recognizes her as a First One; Her subtle glow, similar to Adora and Kyle's, just proved that. She looks the group over before sighing. 

"Seahawk, your clients are here!" She shouts over her shoulder before pushing herself off the doorframe and heading back inside. Seahawk walks up then, humming happily. 

"Thank you for showing them in, Bow," He tells the Sorcerer behind them. Bow nods a bit, nudging the three of them inside. Seahawk smiles warmly. "Come in, take a seat over here," He instructs, gesturing to a couple couches in the center of the room. The room looked less like an office and more like a living room, they observe as they take their seats. Seahawk sits down in a chair in front of them as the young woman comes back over, sitting in a chair next to him. "So. Tell me again what I can do for you." 

Catra sighs impatiently. "I need you to take us to the lighthouse so I can get my soul shard. I only need two more, and that's one of them," She explains to him, leaning against her knees. "I've had a pretty shitty time on Earth, so I  _ really _ want to go home." She decides not to talk about how the fate of the Heavens almost rests in her hands… 

Seahawk hums and nods. "That can be arranged, right now even. I've decided to waive your fee, by the way," He says with a smile. "You all came all this way, and even took one of my tours. It'd be an honor to assist you." Catra breathes a sigh of relief, nodding quickly. Seahawk turns to the woman. "Mermista, dear, can you get my keys for me?" He asks quietly, and the woman gets up, nodding and walking off to get his keys. After he has them in his hand, he motions for everyone to stand up. "Off we go." 

* * *

The ocean breeze is cold, but Catra decides she can handle it. Especially with Adora beside her, radiating natural warmth. They stand at the railing of Seahawk's boat, looking out over the moonlit water as they made their way to the small island the lighthouse is on. Catra rests her head on Adora's shoulder. "I'm nervous," She admits quietly.

Adora looks down at her, raising an eyebrow. "About what? Hordak?" She asks, and Catra nods slightly. 

"What if Shadow Weaver was wrong, and I'll end up getting the Heavens destroyed?" She asks, her voice a bit strained. "What if she was lying and setting me up?"

"I honestly don't know," Adora tells her after a beat of silence. "But… you know I'm going to help you. And you'll have the Sword. I know you'll be able to do this."

Catra bites her lip in thought. After a moment, she nods again. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do this," She whispers, trying to sound confident. Adora smiles a bit and nods, kissing the top of her head. 

Inside the boat, at the wheel, Seahawk keeps his eyes diligently ahead of them, keeping an eye on the waves around them. Mermista sits beside him, playing around on her phone, and Kyle and Bow awkwardly sit next to each other on a nearby bench. Seahawk whistles quietly to himself as he drives, and Kyle and Bow aren't exactly sure if they should talk. However, Kyle takes the initiative. "So, why are you down here?" He asks. He immediately winces upon asking, though, because he realizes that's not exactly something you ask so casually. 

Bow looks a bit surprised. "Oh. Um. I came down here on my own. I'm Seahawk's apprentice," He explains, smiling a bit. "He taught me everything I know, I always kinda idolized him back in the Heavens." Seahawk smiles to himself when he hears that. 

Kyle nods. "Oh, that's pretty cool. So…" He leans in, making his voice quiet. "What are Seahawk and Mermista down here?" He asks, and Bow glances at the two. 

"Seahawk came to investigate the Etherian energy being generated by the lighthouse about ten years ago, and Mermista was the one who got the Elders to grant him permission--but she had to supervise him. And as his apprentice, I came along too. We've been here ever since." 

Amazed, Kyle nods again. "You know...you'd be surprised by the amount of other Etherians we've met on our trip to get Catra's shards," He murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's really cool hearing everyone's stories." 

Bow chuckles. "Well, ours is probably the least interesting." He pauses, then smiles a little. "What about you and Adora? How come you're here? Catra I get, but you two..?" 

Kyle laughs awkwardly, glancing away. "Ah. Well… Adora was the one who cast Catra out, and I'm actually half-human and don't have many useful powers. So the Elders sent me down here to be a case manager for people who were cast out, which is how I met Catra." 

Bow is quiet for a moment, surprised. "Wow. That's… wow," He says with a chuckle. Kyle smiles slightly and nods. 

"Yeah. It's slightly more interesting than you guys," He teases, nudging him a bit. Bow smiles and nods, and he's about to speak when Seahawk whistles loudly, trying to gather everyone's attention. 

"We're about to be at the lighthouse. Get ready to deboard," He calls out loud enough to reach Catra and Adora. 

Out on the deck, Catra and Adora exchange a look. "After this, just one more to go," Catra whispers, and Adora nods slightly.

"Let's go."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let's try this again...... 
> 
> **ATTENTION**  
it was brought to my attention that id unintentionally, somehow, messed up the chapters in my fic. so, to any new readers, I'm so sorry for the confusion but the chapters have been fixed so you can start over and it'll make sense!!! and I'm so sorry you saw those spoilers oh noooooo!!!!! 
> 
> **
> 
> sooo this one is a lil short, but I wanted to end it on a good cliffhanger so yknow. had to cut it a bit short
> 
> all I can say is, just read until the end of the chapter

The air was still cold, even when not on the boat. It was less strong, but it made the walk up the dock to the lighthouse less enjoyable. Seahawk leads his little group inside, then smiles, turning to face them. "This lighthouse was decommissioned about twenty years ago, when ships stopped coming up this way in favor of a big shipyard a few cities away. There wasn't really a need for it. Because of that, we started getting most of our imports from…" 

Catra quickly tunes Seahawk out. She didn't really care; This wasn't supposed to be a tour anyways… 

"You're not giving a tour," Mermista murmurs, crossing her arms. "We're just here to get the shard," She reminds him, and Seahawk goes quiet. 

He clears his throat. "Right. I forgot for a moment," He says with a nervous chuckle. "A-Anyways, we have to head up the stairs." He points towards the long, tall spiral staircase. "Up we go." 

Kyle looks up at the stairs with a grimace. "Really?" He whispers to himself. He really didn't want to climb up all those stairs. He also didn't want to try and teleport; that didn't work too well last time, and he wasn't in the mood to try again. Everyone else, out of respect for Catra and her lack of powers, doesn't even think about it as they all start trudging up the stairs.

Adora takes hold of Catra's hand, squeezing it gently as they get closer and closer to her shard. Catra gives her a small smile before looking ahead again. All talking between the group ceases as they focus on the stairs and the warm glow of Catra's soul. They eventually make it to the top, and after taking a moment to catch their breaths, Bow points to a small, glowing orb near the giant window of the top of the lighthouse. "There."

Catra sighs in relief, hurrying over to pick it up. This shard felt much stronger and warmer than the previous shards; She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't really about to complain. She takes ahold of her pendant, and closes her hands around it… but it doesn't absorb. "Wh-" She stares down at the shard in confusion. "Why won't it..?" 

Kyle gently pushes past the others to walk over to Catra. "Let me see," He requests quietly, and Catra hands him the shard. He frowns a bit. "It looks like your last two shards fused into one," He explains, turning it over in his hand. "No wonder it was so strong…" 

Her brow furrows in confusion as she takes the shard back. "I-I don't… why can't I do it?" She's starting to panic now. If she couldn't get all her shards together, how would she be able to make it whole again? 

Kyle sighs. "It requires too much power, power you don't really have right now. You had enough for one, but two-" 

Adora walks over then, gently nudging Kyle aside. "Let me try," She says quietly, taking the shard from Catra, then cupping her hands around her pendant, closing her eyes. It takes a little bit of effort, but she's eventually able to get the shard absorbed into Catra's pendant. She takes a shaky breath. "Okay. Okay, it's all there," She whispers, looking at Catra and smiling a little. "You ready to put it all together?" She asks. 

Seahawk clears his throat a bit, sensing his own friends feel a tad awkward with the situation. "If you'd like, I can take you back to shore so you can-" 

"I want it done now," Catra interrupts, looking Adora in the eye. She then carefully takes off the pendant, handing it to Adora. "You broke it," She says under her breath, just loud enough for only Adora to hear. "So you can fix it." 

Adora swallows nervously, gently taking the pendant into her hands. With careful concentration, she lifts all the shards out of the pendant, handing the pendant back to Catra. She's never put a soul back together before. Shattering was one thing, but repairing? She knew how to do it, but now she has to put it all into action. 

Kyle steps up beside her. This was one of the few things he was able to do; it was part of his job, after all, and he had to learn to channel every ounce of his magic to do it. This should certainly be no problem for Adora, but… she looked way too nervous about it. "If you need me to do it-" 

Adora quickly shakes her head. "I can do it. Just- Just go away," She murmurs, and Kyle nods slightly, step back towards Bow. 

Bow leans over, eyes a bit wide. "I've never seen something like this before," He whispers, and Kyle takes a deep breath, looking at him.

"You guys might wanna head back downstairs," Is all he responds with. They silently do as they're told as Adora holds the entirety of Catra's shattered soul in her hands. Kyle stays nearby despite Adora telling him to go; She might need extra help, after all. 

Closing her eyes, she presses her hands together tight, beginning to fuse the soul back together. The light shining through her fingers begins glowing brighter and brighter as she holds everything together. But what she doesn't expect is the resistance. Her hands begin to separate because of the power between her palms, and she gasps out, trying to put out even more energy into fusing it. But it doesn't let up, and she starts getting worried, having to put more effort into keeping her hands shut. What was the issue? Why wasn't this working? Then... An idea clicks into her head, sensing how strong the resistance is. There must be something missing here… She shuts her eyes tight and focuses just a bit harder, her chest beginning to hurt and her hands beginning to shake. 

Catra, concerned, stands in front of her and wraps her hands around Adora's, smiling slighty. The second their skin touches, the resistance isn't as strong. "Got you," She whispers, and Adora offers her a weak smile as she starts to sweat. Catra's support did help, thankfully. The light only grows brighter and brighter, and as Adora begins losing her power, as she gets weaker from exerting so much energy, Catra once more looks into her eyes. Adora looks back at her, her breathing a bit heavy. Fusing a soul back together was not an easy task… but maybe Catra could make it just a little easier. "You can do it," Catra whispers before leaning in and kissing her, tugging her a bit closer by her hands. 

The light from their joined hands was suddenly blinding, a big burst of energy exploding out from them, nearly knocking Kyle onto the floor. And, as if it was never there, the blinding light is gone, leaving just a dull glow in the center of Catra's chest. Adora pulls back, glancing down at Catra's soul. "It's fixed," She whispers breathlessly, looking at Catra, who can't help but let out a laugh of pure joy as everything she couldn't feel comes rushing back to her, everything she'd missed and everything she'd desired was finally in her heart. 

"You did it," Catra says through her laughter as she helps Adora stay on her feet as her legs start shaking. Kyle hurries over to help Adora, gently wrapping her arm around his shoulders and lifting her up. She chuckles quietly, her eyes slipping closed, her whole body trembling now.

"Didn't know...it'd take so much out of me," She admits, forcing her eyes to open as she looks between Kyle and Catra, the bright blue of her eyes seeming to dull down, the light seeming to leave. 

Catra blinks a bit. "Are you- are you okay though?" She asks, silently gesturing for Kyle to sit her down. Something wasn't right here. Something didn't make sense... Adora tries to nod, but instead her head falls forward as she completely passes out, slumping into Kyle's lap. "Oh my god-" Kyle stares down at her, eyes wide as he gently shakes her, trying to wake her up. Catra drops to her knees, taking Adora's face in her hands. "Adora? Adora?" She looks at Kyle. "What the hell is wrong with her?" She demands, and Kyle shakes his head quickly. 

"I-I don't know, Catra, this has-this has never happened before-" He was stuttering, struggling to speak clearly as Adora began to go a bit cold. 

Catra's heart begins to race. "Oh no-" She pats Adora's cheeks, her breathing getting fast. "Adora?!" 

Seahawk suddenly appears at the top of the stairs, having heard Catra's exclamations. "What happened?" He asks, hurrying over and dropping to his knees near Adora. 

"She fused my soul together and she suddenly just- She just-" Catra can't find words, her mind starting to swim. Here she was, finally put back together, finally made whole again, finally in love… and it was all ending before it could even begin. 

Seahawk nods slightly, waving his hand a bit, a Sorcerer's Circle forming in front of him, a spell Catra doesn't recognize. "She's dying," He whispers, frowning. Upon hearing those words, Catra swears she might scream. Somehow, she holds back. And somehow, Kyle doesn't start panicking. "This shouldn't be happening." Seahawk pushes the circle onto Adora, and a soft glow begins emitting from her chest, glowing and dimming as her heart beats slowly, ever so faintly. "This should keep her alive until we figure out what's happened," He murmurs, taking Adora from Kyle's arms and lifting her up, holding her bridal-style. 

Catra tears up, looking at Adora's pale face, her natural glow no longer present. "I don't understand," She whispers as the three of them begin walking downstairs. Seahawk shakes his head a bit. 

"Something must've happened while she was fusing your soul back together," He murmurs, looking down at the girl in his arms for a moment. He frowns, confused. "I just don't know what."

* * *

Catra paces back and forth in Seahawk's living room as the older man sits next to Adora on the couch, keeping an eye on her soul. Catra's powers hadn't come back yet--they wouldn't until she reentered the Heavens--and Mermista, Bow, and Kyle couldn't fix anything since they didn't actually know what was wrong. So they could only rely on Seahawk, for the moment. 

"I just don't get it. Everything was fine," Kyle whispers, kneeling beside her. "She was doing it right…" Seahawk shrugs slightly. 

"She must've tripped up somewhere. Whatever she did, it nearly cost her her life," He tells him, gently stroking Adora's hair. "She...isn't improving," He murmurs, looking up at Catra. 

Catra looks back at him, her hands trembling as she grabs her jacket off the hook near the door. "I… I need to make a phone call," She tells him before pulling it on and heading out, going back down to the alley. Once outside, she looks around. Then, she reaches into an inside pocket of her jacket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and her lighter. She didn't like being away from Adora, but the urge was stronger than ever; She hated it, but… She lights up anyways, leaning against the wall of the building. With a sigh, she pulls out her phone, scrolling her contacts until she finds the right number. She presses dial, then holds it up to her ear, closing her eyes. 

"Mm, hello? Catra? Hi, how are you!" 

"Entrapta, hi," Catra responds quietly, taking a drag. "I, um… I'm fine, but… Listen, I'm gonna cut to the chase. Adora is dying, and we don't know why. You're… you're the only one I can think of who'd be able to figure it out. I need your help, and I need it fast. We're… running out of time to get back to the Heavens." 

Entrapta is quiet on the other end for a moment. "You got all your shards together, correct?" She asks, and Catra hums in affirmation. "Okay. Let's see." Entrapta sets her phone down, and all Catra can hear on the other end is rustling of papers, mumbling, a curse word or two, then finally, "Ah-ha!" 

"What? What is it?" Catra asks, confused. 

"I've gathered a few notes from my studies. A little bit of everything so I can refer to the proper material once I-"

The line suddenly cuts off, and Catra stares down at her phone, baffled. "What the hell-?" 

"-get here," Entrapta continues, but her voice isn't on the phone. She's right there on the sidewalk, walking towards Catra. "And inspect her." 

Catra is shocked. "Did you- did you _ teleport _ all the way here?" Entrapta nods, as if it should've been obvious she was going to do that. She pauses, staring at Catra for a moment. 

"Those are bad for you," Entrapta grumbles, taking the cigarette from Catra's hand and tossing it to the ground, making Catra look down at it blankly. Okay then. "Take me to Adora, please," Entrapta requests, fumbling a bit with her notes. Catra sighs and nods, leading her back up to Seahawk's place, where she just walks inside. 

"I brought someone who can help," She tells the room, and Seahawk smiles.

"Entrapta. So nice to see you again, dear," He says warmly, and Entrapta grins, walking over. Huh, so they were friends. 

"Good to see you too." She looks down at Adora. "So… tell me again what happened?" 

"She was trying to put my soul back together, and it worked just fine, but then she just… passed out. We thought she might've just been tired, but…" Catra can't continue. Entrapta hums and nods. 

"Alright. Can I ask everyone but Catra to leave, please?" She asks, glancing at Seahawk, Kyle, and Bow and Mermista, who have been standing worriedly on the other side of the room, not wanting to interfere. Everyone nods, heading out of the room to give Entrapta and Catra privacy. Entrapta clears her throat. "Alright. Gimme a sec, in gonna take a look at her…" She rests her hand on Adora's chest, closing her eyes, reading Adora's energy and aura, thoroughly inspecting every bit of her. This was something else she learned through all her time studying ancient scriptures. Thank the ancient First Ones… It doesn't take long to find out what's gone wrong. She goes still immediately once she finds it, her eyes going a bit wide. "Wow," She whispers, looking down at Adora in amazement. 

"What? What's wrong, what happened?" Catra asks eagerly, worry beginning to flood her all over again. 

"She chipped off a piece of her own soul to fix yours," Entrapta tells her, and she gasps in shock, her hand going to cover her mouth. Entrapta smiles slightly. "It's amazing, how she managed to-"

"How? How did that happen?! We had all my shards!" Her voice begins to raise in panic. "And-And why the hell is it killing her?!" 

Entrapta shakes her head. "The only reason I can think of as to why she'd have to use a part of her own soul to complete yours is because your soul couldn't fuse on its own, with its own shards and energy." She turns to Catra, thinking for a moment before she speaks. "Come here." She scoots a bit closer and rests a hand on Catra's chest, trying to identify the issue for her as well. After a moment, she finches back. "Oh. I see." 

"What?" 

"Your soul was so shattered…" Her brow furrows in concern. "It shattered into _ so _ many pieces that it couldn't actually be put back together again," She explains, her voice quiet. "There has never been a soul this broken before. You had all the pieces, sure, but… it was was broken beyond repair. With her being as powerful as she is, it makes sense as to how she could use a part of herself to force it back together. But with that…" She looks at Adora again. "All that power she put into fusing it drained her soul's energy, even if only a little bit actually chipped away." 

Catra feels like she can't breathe upon learning this information. She looks at Adora, tears welling up and blurring her vision. "I don't--I don't get it, how do we fix this?" She asks, her voice strained as she tries not to burst into tears. Adora couldn't really be dying. There was no way, there was no fucking way this could really be happening. And yet… 

"Well. The only thing I can think of is to somehow restore her soul. To replace that chip she gave up," She explains, rubbing her chin in thought as her mind turns, trying to figure out where to go from here.

"Well how do we do that?" Catra asks, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Please don't--please don't let her-" 

Entrapta holds up her hand, silencing her. "It should be fairly easy to gather enough Etherian energy from that lighthouse to make an imitation soul shard, of sorts. It hasn't ever been done before, but with my current technology and research, I could _ theoretically _ manipulate and materialize the energy into a shard that should be able to replace what she gave up, in addition to restoring her soul's energy."

Catra's eyes widen. "Are you serious?" She asks, surprised. "Is that really possible?" 

"Theoretically, yes," Entrapta responds, standing up. It was decided, then. "Seahawk!" She shouts, making Catra jump in surprise at the sudden noise. "Give me a ride to that lighthouse, I have an idea!" 

* * *

Entrapta gently lays Adora down on the bed in her guestroom back home, smiling slightly at her. "You've really hurt yourself, haven't you?" She asks her, even though she knows she can't respond. She chuckles anyways. "Well, I'm gonna get you fixed up. Just…" Her smile fades. "Just hang in there." 

She'd teleported Adora back home, followed by Catra, after she and Seahawk had once more gone to the lighthouse to gather the natural Etherian energy it generated into Catra's pendant, the only vessel they had readily available to carry any sort of Etherian energy. She was lucky Catra was still holding onto that pendant that once held her soul, because she was able to absorb enough energy into it to equal the amount Adora had lost. This should work. She should be able to do this… She sighs and turns away, opening the door and heading out. Catra, who was waiting outside, looks at her. 

"Can I go in now?" She asks quietly. "I-I wanna be with her." Entrapta nods. 

"Just keep an eye on her, make sure she's okay and- and, well, still alive." She cringes as she says the word. "Seahawk's spell is still active, so you can see how she's doing, but if anything goes wrong, get me immediately. I might be a little while." She begins walking away without waiting for a response from Catra, wanting to get starting as soon as she possibly could. 

Catra watches her go before she glances over her shoulder into the room where Adora lied in the dark, the only light being the moonlight pouring in from the window, and the dull glow of her softly beating heart. She sniffles a hit before she heads into the room, sitting down next to Adora's still, stoic body. She gently strokes her cheek, trying not to tear up again. "You know… that was really dumb of you," She murmurs, scooting down so she's lying next to her. "Really fucking dumb."

She rests a hand over Adora's heart. "You really put so much into fixing my soul you completely drained your own. I'm…I'm not worth it. Yeah, Shadow Weaver said I'm the only one who could beat Hordak, but… You could've too. I've seen what you can do." She goes quiet, nuzzling against Adora. "You promised I wouldn't do this alone," She whispers, barely inaudible as her voice begins to shake. She's fighting tears once more. "You promised you wouldn't leave me alone again. So don't you dare leave me now. Don't you dare."

Of course, Adora doesn't respond. She was burnt out, almost completely. There would be no waking up unless she was fixed, just like Catra had been. Catra can't help it as she wraps her arms around Adora, hugging her close as she starts to cry. It was so strange to her now, to feel such a broad range of emotions when she'd barely been able to feel anything this past year. It was strange, feeling heartbroken and anguished as she desperately wished for Adora to be okay, when all that she'd wished for until recently was for her to go away. Now, all she wanted was for her to stay… She ends up crying herself to sleep, still holding Adora, and she doesn't realize she had until she's abruptly woken up by pounding footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hall. Her first instinct is to look down at Adora, who, thankfully, is still alive. After a sigh of relief, she gets up and opens the door. 

Entrapta has a wild grin on her face as she holds up a small, glowing shard in her hand. "I did it. I-I made a shard," She says breathlessly, laughing quietly. She walks into the room and towards Adora, sitting beside her. Catra hurries over, back to Adora's side. "Now, listen carefully, Catra," Entrapta begins, looking at Catra. "There's… no guarantee this will work, okay? It should, but just keep that in mind." Catra nods slightly, taking Adora's hand and looking down at her. She bites her lip nervously as Entrapta takes one last look at the shard in her hand before gently pressing it against Adora's chest, holding it there for a moment, letting her soul absorb it. Entrapta is so, _ so _ relieved when Adora's soul actually takes it, and she heaves a big sigh of relief. "Thank the First Ones," She whispers to herself, closing her eyes. 

Catra keeps her eyes on Adora, waiting for her to wake up, waiting for that burst of light to show her soul was complete once more, waiting for _ anything _… but nothing happens. Nothing of the sort, anyways. 

Instead of glowing brighter, the dull glow that was showing Adora's heartbeat pulses slower, and slower… until it's ceased completely, and the light has gone out. 

Catra's eyes widen in horror. "No. No, no, no, no, _ Adora _ !" Catra shouts, leaning closer. "Adora, wake _ up _!" Her head spins to look at Entrapta, who is now devoid of emotion as she looks at Adora's body. 

"I thought… I thought it would… this isn't right," She whispers to herself.

Catra is about to scream at her again when the entire room is suddenly filled with a piercing ringing and a bright, blinding light, coming straight from Adora's soul. The light and noise go out just as quick as they'd appeared. 

And then the light fades, and she sits up, gasping for breath and gripping her chest, right above her complete soul.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blah this chapter sucked I'm sorry :// y'all can rlly tell I'm running out of steam on this one

Adora can barely breathe, trying desperately to get enough air as she shuts her eyes tight, adjusting to, well, basically being alive again. "What--What the hell happened?" She asks breathlessly, looking between Entrapta and Catra. Both women are too shocked and relieved to say anything for a moment, but Entrapta speaks first. 

"You were dying, and… well, you  _ did _ die for a second. Your soul's energy was drained, and we didn't know if we could fix it. B-but I managed to figure something out." She takes her hand, smiling wide. "You're okay." 

Catra lets out a sob before she wraps her arms around Adora, hugging her tight. "Don't scare me like that ever again," She whispers, her voice strained and shaking. 

Adora just sits there silently for a moment, taking everything in. Did she… did she really die? The last thing she remembered was passing out in Kyle's lap, and after that… Huh, maybe she did die… "I-I'm sorry," She murmurs, blinking a bit. She felt strange, her soul feeling odd. It was a feeling she definitely didn't know how to explain. "What did you guys actually do to my soul?" She asks, looking between them as Catra leans away. To her understanding, she should still be dead right now. 

"We… we managed to take some of that Etherian energy from the lighthouse, and Entrapta was able to manipulate it into an artificial soul shard," Catra explains, hoping that's easy enough to understand. Adora looked a bit boggled right now…

Adora rests a hand over where her soul rests. "I guess that explains why it feels weird," She murmurs, gently rubbing her chest. It ached, and it wasn't great. Catra seemed fine right now, so Adora can only guess that she's in a little pain because she broke her soul herself. "I, um… I wasn't expecting  _ that _ to happen when I repaired your soul," She explains, resting her other hand over Catra's. "I mean… I don't know actually know what I was expecting, but that was  _ not _ it." 

Catra shakes her head a bit. "Why the hell did you do that, Adora?" She asks, taking her hand and squeezing it. "I-I don't understand." 

Adora closes her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "You needed to go home way more than I did," She explains. "You're supposed to our savior, you're supposed to save the Heavens. You needed to get back more than I needed to be alive." 

Catra laughs. "Shit, Adora," She whispers, cupping Adora's face in her hands. "I wouldn't be able to do this without you. I need you to be by my side."

Adora looks into her eyes, seeing the sincerety and the love for her there, like it'd never left in the first place. Smiling slightly, she nods. 

Catra nods back, kissing her, letting her lips linger for a moment. "It's fine. You're fine now, and that's all that matters." Entrapta nods, clearing her throat and standing up, having out stayed her welcome. 

"I'll leave you two alone, I have to make note of this in my research logs anyways…" Entrapta's voice trails off as she turns and walks out of the room, looking thoughtful as she does. Catra didn't know a whole lot about Entrapta, but she did know that she was incredibly relieved that she didn't accidentally totally kill Adora. 

Adora and Catra look at each other, and Adora takes a shaky breath. "Where's Kyle?" She asks, looking around a bit.

"He should be downstairs waiting by now. He went up to the Heavens to let the King and Queen--and Glimmer--know what happened." She smirks. "The Elders were pretty pissed he went up there without permission." 

Adora sighs quietly. "I wish they wouldn't treat him like some outcast. He's still Etherian." She's always been bitter about the way they treated him--and about the way she was forced to treat him as well. She shakes her head slightly. "A-Anyways, we have to get back. We have to get up there before-" 

"I know," Catra says quietly, holding up a hand to quiet her. "We'll go soon, you just need to take it easy for a little while." She thinks they can afford a little bit of rest...or, at least, she hopes so. 

Adora shakes her head again, swinging her legs off the side of the bed. "No. You have to get rid of Hordak," She murmurs, standing up. Catra sighs and nods. Of course. Just like her to be ready to go at all times. 

"Okay, fine," She says back, following her out of the room. On the way downstairs, she shoots a text to Seahawk to let him know everything is alright with Adora, receiving a heart and a thank you in response. She smirks a bit before sliding her phone back in her pocket.

Upon getting downstairs, Kyle jumps up and runs over to Adora, pulling her into a tight hug. "Oh my God, I was so worried," He whispers, squeezing her a bit. Adora hugs him back, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," She whispers to him, and he just pats her back comfortingly. 

"It's okay," He tells her, smiling a bit as he leans back to look at her. "You're fine now, and that's all that matters. She smiles at him, gently patting his cheek. She then sighs, stepping back. 

"Should we head up?" She asks, looking between Catra and Kyle. "Glimmer hasn't tried summoning me yet, so I think we've still got time." 

Catra and Kyle both nod. "Yeah, we're ready," Catra says quietly, steeling herself a bit, trying to prepare to go back to the Heavens for the first time in over a year. Her old home, a place she hasn't seen in so long… She doesn't care about anything here on Earth anymore. Not her apartment, or her job, or her car, or even the few human friends she'd managed to make. Nothing. All that mattered was Adora and getting rid of Hordak so they could… well, so they could start a real life together, something they couldn't have had before. Catra has finally been able to move past the pain, she's been able to fall back in love and to heal. 

And she didn't want anything else getting in her way, not when she was so close to having everything. 

* * *

Adora, Catra, and Kyle look around once they've reached the Heavens; They're back at Adora's place, but the air is unnervingly still and quiet. Adora takes a few steps, but she goes slow. Something doesn't feel right. Kyle frowns. 

"What's wrong?" He asks quietly, and Catra shushes him, saying nothing in response. Adora makes her way over to one of her windows, taking a peek out… Only to find everything deserted. The streets were empty, nobody was there, buildings looked empty and everything felt…Gone. She gasps, her eyes widening in shock as she takes it all in. "What-?" 

She's cut off when there's a hard pounding at her door. "Adora!" 

Adora spins to look at her door, stunned. Catra looks at the door, recognizing the panicked voice, gently pushing Kyle away. "It's Glimmer," She murmurs, hurrying over to open the door for her. She pulls it open, and she sees that Glimmer is breathing kind of hard, her eyes wide, looking scared. 

"Catra--oh thank the First Ones," She whispers, putting a hand over her heart. "You guys need to come, quick--You," She points at Kyle. "You need to evacuate with everyone else," She tells him, frowning. Catra and Adora exchange a look when they hear the word 'evacuate'. "Go, now." 

Kyle grimaces. "What the hell do you mean, 'evacuate'?" He asks, and Adora glances at Glimmer, then at him. 

"Kyle, just go back to Earth, okay?" She whispers, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what's going on, but… We'll come back for you once this is all over," She assures him with a small smile. She had no idea what this was about or what Glimmer was so panicked about, but she could only guess that Hordak had made his grand appearance. Kyle looks uneasy, but he knows that it's best not to argue, especially knowing about the shit show that's about to happen. 

"Stay safe, you guys," He tells them before sending himself back to Earth, not wanting to get in the way anymore. When he's gone, Catra and Adora turn to Glimmer, who's been waiting impatiently for them. 

"What's going on?" Catra finally asks, and Glimmer crosses her arms, glancing over her shoulder.

"We evacuated the Heavens. Everyone… Everyone, from all districts, is down on Earth in hiding. We didn't want any more casualties," Glimmer explains quietly, a pained look crossing her face. Adora's blood goes cold, and Catra tenses up, the uneasy feeling in both of them only intensifying. 

"...Casualties?" Adora whispers, hardly able to believe what she just heard. "What do you- what  _ happened _ ?" 

"Hordak," She says quietly. "We don't know where he is now, but--but he already hit the palace. He was trying to get the Sword, but Mom and Dad were able to get it away before Hordak could," She explains nervously, glancing over her shoulder again. "We need… we need to get you the Sword, Catra," She whispers, visibly nervous. 

Catra doesn't know what to say for a moment, stunned into silence. She had no idea any of this was happening. She had no idea she'd be so late, causing unnecessary deaths to innocent Etherians. She'd been in the Heavens for less than five minutes and already she had blood on her hands. 

"Catra?" Adora gently takes her hand. "We have to go. We have to take care of this," She whispers, squeezing her hand. She nods slightly, looking at Glimmer. 

"Where's the Sword?" She asks, and Glimmer takes a deep breath, turning away and leading Catra and Adora out, down the street towards the palace. 

"Dad put a cloaking spell on him and Mom, and they've got the Sword," She murmurs, grabbing Adora and Catra's hand, closing her eyes and teleporting them inside the palace. It takes both women a moment to adjust themselves after such a sudden teleportation, but they manage to keep up regardless as Glimmer pulls them towards the armory. She looks around cautiously as she does, hoping she doesn't draw too much attention to them--although, there was nobody here, so Adora and Catra aren't exactly sure why they're being so hush. Catra can only guess it's because Hordak could be anywhere at any moment, and they had to be careful. 

Adora is more unnerved by the fact the usually bustling palace is now completely abandoned, feeling empty and hollow and… sad. She wanted this all to be over. "Do we- do we have to talk to the Elders about the Sword?" She asks, and Glimmer quickly shakes her head. 

"No. They evacuated with the High Sorcerers after making sure the Sword was in secure hands," She explains to them as she stops in front of the armory door. She looks at Catra. "Unlock the door," She requests quietly, and Catra looks confused. 

"I can't--what?" She shakes her head. "Glimmer, we don't have time for-" 

"Unlock the door," She repeats, gesturing to the door. "It's guarded by a Sorcerer's spell my dad cast, and only a Sorcerer can unlock it. I'm… well, my own power isn't strong enough yet." Being of both First One and Sorcerer descent, it took her a while longer to hone both powers she held within her, having to do twice the work. Not only that, but she wanted to make sure Catra's magic had returned. 

Catra looks at the door, knowing time was quickly ticking away; They'd be caught defenseless if they didn't move quickly. Catra takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and summoning the power that had been dormant inside of her ever since she was cast out. She frowns after a few seconds, when nothing comes to her. "Come on," She pleads quietly to herself. Adora is about to step in to try and help when, to all of their surprise, Catra's powers come bursting out of her, all of it returning all at once and drowning her body in light. Catra's body is quickly overwhelmed by the strong power she'd spent her whole life controlling and taming; It was like being a child again, experiencing it all over again. She drops to her knees, panting as a Sorcerer's Circle is formed at her feet, without her doing much of anything, as if it was subconscious. On instinct, she holds her breath and brings it up and over her body. Almost immediately, she feels calm, cool, collected. Ah, one of the first spells she'd ever learned… a calming spell. Well, it was a start, anyways… She can't help but smile to herself at the silliness of it. She really had to calm her nerves at the worst time, didn't she? 

Adora and Glimmer, who took a few steps away, both look at her. "They're back," Adora whispers, smiling slightly. "Can you unlock it now?" She asks Catra, who only gives her a slight nod, moving her hands precisely and expertly to summon a Circle, as if she'd never lost her powers to begin with. Then, she shoves the Circle onto the door, and the magic barrier guarding it and keeping it locked goes down, allowing them entry. She breathes a quiet sigh of relief that it actually worked and pushes the door open, allowing Glimmer to walk ahead of them. She closes the door, then once more casts the spell that brought that same barrier up again. Maybe it'd buy them some time until they were found out… They hurry down the hall and into the main room of the armory, where the King and Queen sat with the Sword, carefully resting on its podium like it had been for centuries.

They both look up upon seeing the three of them, and they sigh in relief. "Thank the First Ones," Angella whispers, standing up and pulling her daughter into a hug, relieved she didn't get caught while retrieving Catra and Adora. Glimmer hugs her back for a moment, then she steps back, gesturing to Catra and Adora. 

"They're ready," She says quietly, and Angella and Micah exchange a look. It was time, then.

Micah silently stands up and picks up the Sword, flinching uncomfortably as its power began coursing through him. No, no, this power wasn't his to use… Not to mention, it was almost immediately overwhelming, even for him. He just wasn't destined to wield this blade, it was clear… He walks towards Catra, knowing they had little time to waste. She looks up at him, anxious feelings beginning to return despite the spell she cast on herself. She steels herself, forcing herself to calm down. He takes a deep breath and holds it out to her. "Catra, young Sorcerer, it's time for you to go out there and save the Etheria Heavens. It's a fate no one would wish to have placed upon them… But it's your fate nonetheless." He gently urges her to take it, just a little nervous for how she'll react to it. With a shaky hand, she takes the Sword from him, and she can instantly feel the immense power it held flowing through every inch of her body and soul. But she doesn't flinch like Micah, she doesn't react negatively. Instead, it fills her with a feeling of determination and strong will to protect her home, amping her own powers up to a level she didn't even know was possible. She feels like she could take on the world as she grips the handle of the Sword even tighter. Micah smiles slightly to himself upon seeing the look on Catra's face. "You're more powerful than anyone could've imagined, and that's something to be proud of. And with that, you're destined to be even more so." 

Angella then looks at Adora, folding her hands as she walks over to her. "And you... You're a lucky one," She murmurs, smiling a bit. "Your job is not to step in for Catra, but to aide her as best you can. You two… are much like Micah and I," She tells them, glancing at her husband. "We, too, had to face such a destructive force when we were young. We, too, had to put our lives on the line for our home. It's why the Heavens are what they are today. You two are sure to bring about a new Era, and a new life for every Etherian out there." 

Catra and Adora look at each other, both with wide eyes. Damn, they had no idea it was that serious. Catra takes a breath, asking the question that's been on her mind since this all started. "Why… why me?" She asks quietly, looking between them. "Why do I have to do this?" Angella and Micah don't say anything for a moment. Then, Micah takes a breath. Before he can speak, though, Glimmer interrupts. 

"You doubt yourself, don't you? You don't think you can do this, right?" Glimmer steps in, frowning. Catra doesn't have a chance to respond before Glimmer continues. "Adora  _ could _ do it, but you two need each other. You two are-" She looks up at her parents, then back at the couple. "You two could be the next saviors of the Heavens, just like my mom and dad. It's terrifying, and I'm terrified for you, but--but I don't doubt you guys for a second." She looks between Catra and Adora. "Both of you put together… you're unstoppable. You can do this, Catra." 

Catra is…genuinely surprised by Glimmer's little pep talk; Glimmer had never really been fond of her, that much she knew, so this was a bit odd… but welcomed nonetheless. She takes a breath and nods slightly. "Okay," She whispers, nodding again, a new sort of determination swirling around inside her. They were counting on her. The Heavens were counting on  _ her _ . She then looks at Adora, who has silently been psyching herself up for this since they walked in here. 

Adora swallows hard. "Okay." She turns and glances back down the hall. "We need to get out there," She says, her voice tight. She honestly has no idea what they're about to be up against or how they'll deal with it. She doesn't know the depth of Hordak's power or ability, she doesn't truly know whether or not this will end in disaster. Angella and Micah seem to have high expectations for them, being so sure that they'll take care of this with no problem… but Adora just isn't sure. Regardless, she looks at Catra. "Ready?" Catra takes a deep breath, looking at her reflection in the Sword's wide blade. She almost didn't recognize herself; It was still her, of course, but… she still, somehow, felt like a different person than she did this morning. She looks up at Adora and gives her a quick nod. 

"Yeah. I'm ready." 

* * *

The streets being as empty as they were was unnerving as they walked, looking around for any sign of Hordak being around. Honestly, it sounded like he was some mysterious, mythical creature one couldn't actually see. Adora has seen a few souls without bodies--dead First Ones and Sorcerers--lying around as they walk, and it made her sick to her stomach to know that already lives had been lost. Each time she passes one, she hurries over to lay the soul to rest, gently soothing the soul's angry, flickering, dying light until it was no more; Surely they could rest now after such a wrongful death. She closes her eyes, her hands starting to tremble as she lays another soul to rest, Catra standing beside her, watching her. 

"I don't like this," She murmurs, standing up again.

"Neither do I," Catra agrees quietly, her grip on the handle of the Sword tightening, making her knuckles go white. "God, where the fuck is he?!" She shouts, fury suddenly filling her. "Enough of this fucking hiding, you  _ coward _ !" 

Adora frowns, looking around. They were now in the District Square, the very center of the District. A clear, open space where people would spend their leisure time. Ha, how funny. The perfect potential battleground. She takes a deep breath. "Come out!" She shouts with Catra, feeling her natural glow burn even brighter as she worked up her powers. "Face us like-"

"Ah, good to see you girls," A voice suddenly rings throughout the still, silent air. Catra and Adora both turn to look at where the sound came from. There, slowly walking up to them, was a First One unlike any they'd ever seen, one who looked to be the stark opposite of what one should be. A sickly, evil looking bastard. 

"Hordak," Adora whispers, bracing herself, her hands balling into firsts. Catra just smirks, the Sword's power finally fully consuming her at the sight of the First One she'd been gearing up to fight. As if on instinct, she raises the blade to him, not even caring that he seems rather unbothered by the couple. Catra raises the blade even higher as a Sorcerer's Circle forms around the handle of the blade where her hands held it tightly, a dark, heavy incapacitation spell ready to be blown forth. She just grins, finally ready for this.

"About time you showed up." 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry this is as short as it is, especially for a final chapter, but I genuinely could not come up with any additional ideas, and I knew I at least needed to finish this fic rather than just leaving it unfinished... sorry again folks

Adora looks at Catra's stance, standing behind her defensively. She takes a breath, ready for whatever comes their way. 

"Tell me something," Hordak says as Catra is ready to bring the Sword's blade down. Catra frowns, going still. Adora scoffs, looking at Catra.

"Catra, come on," She whispers, gesturing to Hordak. "Just take care of-"

"Why are you working so hard to defend the very people that wronged you? Destroyed you? Broke you?" He asks Catra, his eyes trained on her. Catra tenses up at his question, a couple different things going through her mind. 

"How do you- How do you know about that?" She asks quietly, looking him over in suspicion. Hordak just smirks. 

"I know a lot of things," He tells her, folding his hands behind his back as he begins pacing around the couple. "Such as… how you were betrayed by your lover." His eyes go right to Adora, who starts breathing a bit harder. He looks back at Catra, whose arms start shaking as she begins to lose focus. "Shattered by none other than the one you'd promised your heart to." 

Catra shakes her head quickly, shutting her eyes tight for a second as she gathers her thoughts. "Shut the hell up!" Catra shouts, turning to face him again. She finally swings the blade, pushing forth the spell she'd had ready, and it's just about to hit him when he deflects it as if he were swatting away a fly, sending it right back towards Catra, who doesn't have much time to move away.

Adora gasps, quickly blocking the spell with her own powers, stumbling forward a bit to catch it. "Catra, just keep going!" She urges impatiently, but Catra can't bring herself to cast another spell. Hordak simply continues. 

"You're still angry at what the First Ones have done to you, deep down," Hordak tells Catra, pretending as if she hadn't just tried to attack him. "You're a powerful young woman, much like your parents; They were dear friends of mine, you know," He tells her with a smirk. "So I know what you're capable of, and I know it's far more than whatever petty chores the Elders have you doing. We may not be of the same race but we hold the same ideals, Catra."

"No we don't!" Catra yells as bitterness and anger begins spreading throughout her, quickly bringing up another spell, her anger only fueling her power. She knew nothing about her parents, and she certainly didn't need  _ him _ to tell her about them. She swings it forward again, and once more, the spell is blocked. Frustrated and quickly becoming angry, Catra takes off running towards him, this time not. only using the Sword to strengthen her powers, but also using it for its intended purpose: a weapon. 

Adora watches her go, trying to keep herself focused enough to block any attacks Hordak might throw their way. Yet, he doesn't move, even as Catra jumps into the air, swinging the Sword in an attempt to hit him… but he's completely disappeared by the time she gets the blade near him.

"Fuck!" Catra shouts, breathing hard and angry. He was now absolutely nowhere in sight. Adora sighs and runs over to where she stands. 

"Catra, calm down," She whispers, gripping her shoulders, feeling bad when she realizes Catra is shaking. "Listen to me… getting angry is just what he wants. He wants you to stop thinking rationally. You… you can do this," She whispers, sliding her hands up to cup her face. Catra closes her eyes, trying to get her breathing back under control, nodding slightly. 

"Yeah," She whispers, nodding again. She had no idea where he was right now, but… she could care less. Adora had a point. He wanted to make her mad, he wanted to wear her out. He wanted to make sure he'd be triumphant. Adora smiles slightly, tilting Catra's chin up a bit.

Then, quick yet soft and comforting, Adora kisses her, purposely sending Catra even more magic, hoping to aide her even further. Catra feels that extra little bit of magic flow into her, and it makes her shiver as she pulls away from Adora. She looks into her eyes, a new sort of light in her own. Adora smirks. "I'm right here."

Catra nods slightly, then rests a hand on the ground, closing her eyes. "I have an idea," She whispers, summoning up an entrapment spell, making a large circle on the ground only visible to her own eye, a trick Shadow Weaver actually taught her in her youth. "A trap spell. If I can get him in here," She whispers quietly, making sure everything is correct. She then shows Adora the outline with her finger, making sure she knows where it is, even though she can't actually see it. "Then I'll be able to…" She bites her lip, looking at Adora. Adora nods quickly. 

"Yeah. Yeah, it'll work." She smiles a bit, then kisses her again. "Wherever that fucker is." Catra laughs quietly, shaking her head as they stand up.

"Alright…" She looks around, taking a deep breath. "Hordak, where the  _ hell _ did you go?!" She shouts, turning around a bit. "Don't pussy out on me now!" Adora glances around, trying not to snicker. She quickly wipes the smile from her face; this was a serious situation, and no laughing matter. It seems to piss Hordak off, because he finally appears a few feet away, frowning. 

"You two," He tsks, shaking his head. He starts moving towards them, and they both step away. "Here I am, trying to convince you to rise up against those who hurt you…" 

Catra takes a quick glance at the ground as they continue to walk, wondering if it'll really work this easily… He pauses right in front of it, as if he saw it--but that should be impossible, he wasn't around to see it. Catra frowns a bit, trying to keep the attention away from the Circle. "What does it matter to you?" She demands, glaring at him. 

He sighs. "Catra, my dear, you must understand that we both suffered mistreatment. I was too powerful for my time and was constantly placed under watch even when it wasn't deserved. You, too, are too powerful. So much so, you were used only for your powers. The only difference is I took advantage of my power when I had the chance, to crush those who were weaker than me and those who got in my way." He smiles. "Your parents were  _ nothing _ compared to you-"

Adora grunts, using every ounce of her strength to push Hordak forward and into the circle when he isn't paying attention, having quickly teleported behind him while he was distracted. She's genuinely surprised when it actually works and he stumbles forward and into Catra's Circle. Catra quickly brings up the Circle, effectively trapping him inside it. He seems taken aback by what's just happened, taking quick glances around, and at the two of them. 

"Did you-?" He stops, composing himself. "To be expected of you, Catra," He murmurs, smiling a bit and trying to play off the fact he was actually rather upset he was able to be trapped by such a simple spell, albeit an incredibly  _ powerful _ simple spell… 

Catra states at him, frowning. "This is it, Hordak," She whispers, gripping the Sword's handle tight again. "You're not making it out of that Circle alive," She whispers, stepping towards him. "You've caused so much pain and trouble, for no reason at all."

Hordak doesn't respond to her. 

She scoffs. "Seriously? Nothing to say to that?" 

"My reason is as simple as wanting to be in power, Catra," He says plainly with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. "Nothing more, nothing less. I told you before, I was cast out for-"

"I don't give a shit!" She shouts. "All of  _ your _ mess was put on my shoulders, and you got in the way of me  _ finally  _ being happy again, so I'm gonna clean it up, and you're gonna get the fuck out!" She raises the sword, gritting her teeth. It only then dawns on her that she's… never actually killed someone before. So she pauses, taking a few deep breaths. 

"Catra," Adora whispers, nodding her head towards Hordak. "Just… just do it." Catra doesn't move for a moment, her grip tightening a bit as she begins psyching herself up. " _ Catra _ ." 

"Damn it- hold on-"

"I knew you wouldn't be able to do it. At the end of the day, you're just as weak as anyone. You may have been part of some silly prophecy to save the Heavens, but in reality, you're just as scared as any other child up against something they fear--and I know you're scared."

"Scared?" Okay, that was funny. Catra wasn't…  _ scared _ . Not of him, not really. Yes, all of this had been put upon her rather suddenly, but she wasn't scared. Nervous and anxious about killing someone, maybe, but… No, the more she thinks, the less she's scared. She steels herself a bit, smirking at him. "Scared of some bitch in a circle?" She shakes her head, psyching herself up more as she prepared to bring the Sword down for the very last time. "Barely." 

* * *

Lying back on the grass, eyes closed as the sun shone its warmth down on her, Catra tries to keep a clear mind. It's been a couple weeks now since Hordak's death, and the Heavens were, basically, back to normal. Yes, they still mourned the loss of the few lives lost, but no one was panicking any more, and things were much less tense between the Sorcerers and First Ones. Catra had dealt with the problem, much like she'd intended, finding it to have been easier to do than expected--although, she wouldn't tell anyone that part. She wasn't so sure what everyone was freaking out for, and she certainly wasn't sure why Angella and Micah were making such a big deal out of it. 

Regardless, it was nice to be welcomed back home after everything, that's for damn sure… She opens her eyes when she hears the grass crunch beside her as someone walks up. She looks up to see Adora there beside her, sitting down. "Hey," She says quietly. "Doing okay?" 

Catra nods, sitting up. "I'm fine," She responds, resting her head on Adora's shoulder. "Just thinking about everything…"

Adora wraps her arm around Catra's shoulder, laying her head on hers. They don't speak for a moment before Adora squeezes her a bit. "It's nice out today." 

"It's nice every day," Catra retorts with a smirk. "This is Etheria, you know."

Adora rolls her eyes, chuckling. "Yeah, yeah." She sighs, her smile fading. "I didn't…I didn't come to just talk about the weather," She says, and Catra frowns. 

"But I like talking about the weather." 

Adora huffs and nudges her away, trying not to smile again. "Stop, I'm being serious," She insists, although it sounds like she's trying not to giggle. "Look, Catra…" She looks at her, and already Catra isn't sure that she likes where this conversation is going. "I know you're still kinda… mentally recovering and everything after what happened, but, um… I wanted to talk about us." 

Ah. Right. They  _ still _ hadn't sat down and discussed their relationship or its status yet. Catra pulls her knees up to her chest. "Oh, yeah," She murmurs, looking down at the ground. It was something she'd given a bit of thought to, but she was still a bit upset about the whole shattering situation. Yes, she'd  _ mostly _ forgiven her, and yes, she was still in love with her and they'd been making a  _ lot _ of progress, but… 

"It's okay if you don't wanna talk about it yet," Adora tells her, voice soft. "But now that things have  _ finally _ calmed down, I figured-"

"I think I wanna get back together," Catra interrupts, looking up at her. "After everything… I still love you, and… I still wanna be with you." She reaches over and takes her hand. "Yeah, I'm still kinda pissed you shattered my soul and everything, but you did all that you could to help, and I can't thank you enough for that, so… if you want, we can get back together."

A look of relief instantly crosses Adora's face, and she nods quickly and smiles. "Okay. Okay, great," She whispers, squeezing her hand. "I want to." 

Catra nods and leans over, kissing her quickly, smiling a bit. "I'm just… glad that this is all over and that we can put everything behind us. I'm glad that we can finally _move on_."

Adora nods in agreement, smiling back at her as she pulls her close again. "So am I…" 

After everything, after losing her soul, finding all the pieces, being put back together and made whole again, after finishing off some bastard who was getting in the way of her happy ending, Catra was beyond relieved to just… sit here with Adora, and start off the rest of their lives. 

She was relieved that things were finally okay again, and that they'd... well, that they'd stay that way for good this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm. very sorry it was such a disappointing ending, I know y'all probably had higher expectations, but. my mind drew a complete blank. and it doesn't help I'm horrific at action-ish scenes, so.... ugh. anyways, I'm deeply sorry I couldn't write a better ending, but thank you all so, SO much for sticking with this fic and reading it through the end, your support means the entire world to me. I'm hoping whatever idea I happen to come up with next is even better, and I'm better able to keep inspiration and motivation.  
once again, thank you so much, and I'll see you next time <3


End file.
